Guardians of Peace
by Kuroi Hakuchou
Summary: When the Queen of Naboo landed on Tatooine along with her followers and two Jedi, Qui-Gon found not one, but two disturbances in the Force. Their names were Anakin Skywalker and Higurashi Kagome. Inu/Star Wars xover COMPLETE!
1. Chapter I: Disturbances in the Force

This is a story that I had started working on last year, but was on temporary hiatus due to me working on my Naruto crossover. Me publishing this **DOES NOT** mean that I am ready to start updating 'Wandering Paths' on a regular basis again.

My computer (a.k.a. my mom's, though I use it more) has a bunch of crap on it and some of it needs to be gotten rid of. Therefore, I am posting this, so that more space can be freed on the computer.

I think it is not ready to be read yet, so please hang in there if it is not very good.

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or Star Wars, 'cause they belong to Takahashi Rumiko and George Lucas/LucasFilm

"speaking"

'_thinking_'

"**Huttese**"

**Ages:**

Anakin – 9

Kagome – 12

Padmé – 14

Qui-Gon – 60 (doesn't look it, does he?)

Obi-Wan – 25

Jar Jar – 20

**Chapter I: Disturbances in the Force**

––Iccccccccccccco

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

**Episode I: The Phantom Menace**

_Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlaying star systems is in dispute._

_Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the planet of Naboo._

_While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict…_

––Iccccccccccccco

It was a normal day on Tatooine. Or, at least, it seemed to be normal. As usual, the two suns that the little red planet circled had risen high into the sky. They had very simple names that were easy to remember: Tatoo I and Tatoo II. People went about their daily lives. The people who did not live in the larger cities in the northern hemisphere continued to farm moisture for the planet, and the people in the cities, such as Mos Espa and Mos Eisley, went about their business, like selling, buying, or, most notably, gambling.

Suddenly, out of the pale blue sky lit by its twin suns, came a long, silver cruiser spaceship. Anyone seeing it, which they hadn't, would have wondered what had brought the people on board to such an out-of-the-way planet such as Tatooine. Tatooine was all desert, despite having unique rock formations. It was hot and bleak, as it had always been for the past for the past few millenniums. Anyone looking at it could hardly imagine that once-upon-a-time, Tatooine had been a lush, jungle-infested planet covered by oceans, and the only intelligent inhabitants being the Jawas and the Ghorfas, also known as Sandpeople to the native humans.

The cruiser was small compared to the huge Republic warships that roamed the galaxy in times of turmoil and battle. It was, as mentioned, long and silver, more chrome than anything else. It had viewing windows at the top where it bulged upwards a little, and twin engines sticking out on either side of it. As it neared the red dusty ground, it extended little legs to land on. Slowly, it settled on the legs with an audible 'clunk', and dust flew all around. And it was because of the arrival of this strange little cruiser that the day was not quite as normal as it usually was.

––Iccccccccccccco

A tall, middle-aged man with long, graying brown hair and blue eyes entered one of the control rooms on the silver ship. He was wearing a long grey poncho over his other clothes, concealing the fact that he was a Jedi. Successfully locating his apprentice, the man, called Qui-Gon Jinn, approached him. The Padawan learner, known as Obi-Wan Kenobi, was currently checking on the cables in the control room.

"The hyper-drive generator's gone, Master. We'll need a new one," said Obi-Wan, seeing his master enter.

Obi-Wan was about twenty-five years of age, and was a few inches shorter than his master. His eyes were blue-grey, and his hair was reddish-blonde. Like most Human Padawan learners, his hair was short with a small ponytail on the back of his head, with a long braid coming down from behind his ear.

"That'll complicate things," said Qui-Gon, sighing.

Then he looked around and said, "Be wary. I sense a disturbance in the force."

"I sense it also, Master," said Obi-Wan, nodding. "But…"

"What is it?" asked Qui-Gon.

"There is something else, Master. It feels like another disturbance, but I can't tell if it is actually one or not."

"Does it feel like it's playing hide-and-seek with you?" asked Qui-Gon.

"Yes. Do you sense it also, Master?"

"I do. Remember, don't let them send any transmissions," said Qui-Gon, before leaving.

'Them' referred to the Queen of Naboo and her followers, who were currently on the run from the Trade Federation in the little silver ship. Naboo was one of the planets under the control of the Republic, but the leaders of the Trade Federation had tried to make Queen Amidala, ruler of Naboo, sign a treaty that would make her powerless, and let them gain control instead. Luckily, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with the 'help' of a native inhabitant named Jar Jar Binks, freed Queen Amidala and some of her followers, and escaped here to Tatooine. It was the perfect place to hide, since Tatooine was so far away and almost utterly unknown, or forgotten.

Obi-Wan watched his master leave and wondered what he should do in the meantime. His master had been wearing an overcoat to hide his Jedi clothing, so Obi-Wan assumed Qui-Gon had decided to go into the nearby city of Mos Espa.

––Iccccccccccccco

Qui-Gon had decided to take Jar Jar with him, as well as the little droid who had saved their lives during the onslaught from the Trade Federation. The droid was called R2-D2. The three of them were setting out to Mos Espa, hoping to find replacement parts for the ship.

"Dis sun doin' murder ta mesa skin," said Jar Jar in his funny Gungan accent.

The Gungans were one of the natives to the planet Naboo, where it was covered by jungles and lots of water. They lived in large cities underwater, though they did require oxygen to live. Jar Jar appeared to be descended from some sort of amphibian, with large, googly eyes and huge earflaps that could have been gills millions of years before. No wonder his poor skin was being harmed by the suns of the binary star system.

"Wait!" came a familiar voice behind them.

Qui-Gon and Jar Jar turned around to see Captain Panaka, leader of the Royal Naboo Security Forces, accompanied by what appeared to one of the Queen's handmaidens, though she wasn't wearing her orange and yellow robes.

"Wait. Her Highness commands that you take her handmaiden with you," said Panaka, drawing level with Qui-Gon.

"No more commands from Her Highness today, Captain. The spaceport isn't going to be very pleasant," said Qui-Gon, turning to leave.

"The queen _wishes_ it; she's curious about the planet," said Panaka with finality.

Qui-Gon exhaled and said, "This is not a good idea. Stay close to me," he added to the handmaiden.

He turned and began walking towards the spaceport again, this time with the handmaiden following him. R2 beeped as he began following the handmaiden, and Panaka turned and began walking back to Her Highness's ship.

––Iccccccccccccco

Once they reached the spaceport, various races and species could be seen, which was normal for a spaceport. Cruisers of all sorts flew in the air.

"…Moisture farms, for the most part. Some indigenous tribes, and scavengers. A few spaceports like this one are havens for those who don't wish to be found," explained Qui-Gon.

"Like us," said the handmaiden, who had introduced herself as Padmé and was walking beside him.

"Dissen berry berry bad," said Jar Jar, and then promptly stepped into some dung of some sort.

"Oooh! Icky, icky goo!" he exclaimed, wiping his foot on the dirt.

They walked up the street, and looked around. A giant reptile, known as a dewback, walked behind them.

"We'll try one of the smaller dealers," said Qui-Gon, nodding and turning towards a shop near them.

Inside the dark shop, a bell tinkled, notifying the owner that a customer had entered. The owner, who had been dozing behind the counter, was called Watto, and was a Toydarian. The Toydarians were a race from the planet Toydaria (1), which was close to the planet Nal Hutta, a planet controlled by the Hutts.

Watto had a short, stubble-covered trunk similar to an elephant's, with small, protruding tusks, one of them broken, sticking out from his lower jaw. He had three fingers on each hand, and his long legs ended in webbed feet with three toes. One of the legs was lame, though it wasn't very noticeable. His skin was greyish-blue. It too was covered with stubble, but not as much as his trunk. On his upper back was a pair of delicate-looking wings, which Watto used most of the time. His eyes were orange with oval-shaped pupils.

When Watto heard the door tinkle, he said, "**Huta ya nolia** (good day to you, [usually to a stranger])!"

Opening his wings, he flew over in front of Qui-Gon.

"**Hi chuba da naga** (what do you want)?" he asked in Huttese (2).

"I need parts for a J-Type 327 Nubian," said Qui-Gon.

"Ah, yes! Nubian! We have lots of that," said Watto eagerly, and turned around to shout behind him.

"**Peedunkee** (boy)! **Naba de unko** (get in here, now)!" he yelled over his shoulder, and a young boy with sandy-blonde hair came running in.

"**Coona tee-tocky malia** (what took you so long)?" asked Watto angrily as the boy came running up to the counter.

"**Mel tassa cho-passa** (I was cleaning the fan switches)–" began the boy, trying to explain.

"**Chut-chut** (never mind)! **Ganda doe wallya** (watch the store)! **Me dwano no bata** (I've got some selling to do here)! **Chik na di kato** (where is the girl)?"

"You sent her out for something," said the boy in Galactic Basic (3), climbing up on the counter.

"**Tagwa** (yes), **tagwa**! So," said Watto, turning back to Qui-Gon, "let me take a-thee out back. We'll find what you need."

Watto laughed to himself as Qui-Gon and R2 followed him to the scrap-yard out behind the store. The Jedi had to take something out of Jar Jar's hands along the way and reprimand him. Once Qui-Gon had his back turned, Jar Jar stuck out his long tongue and waggled his hands at his earflaps. Then the Gungan strode over to another part of the shop with his funny gait and examined a folded-up droid.

Padmé was looking all around the shop, when the boy, who had been staring at her, suddenly spoke up.

"Are you an angel?" asked the boy.

Padmé looked at him, surprised, and said, "What?"

"An angel. I've heard the deep-space pilots talk about them. They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They live on the Moons of Iego, I think," said the boy.

"You're a funny little boy. How do you know so much?" said Padmé, smiling at him.

"I listen to all the traders and star pilots who come through here. I'm a pilot, you know, and someday, I'm gonna fly away from this place," said the boy, cleaning a piece of droid parts.

"You're a pilot?" asked Padmé.

"Mm-hm. All my life," replied the boy.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since I was very little. Three, I think. My mom and I were sold to Gardulla the Hutt, but she lost us betting on the podraces."

"You're a slave?" asked Padmé, frowning as if she couldn't comprehend such a thing.

"I'm a person, and my name is Anakin!" said the boy angrily.

"I'm sorry. I don't fully understand. This is a strange place to me," said Padmé, looking around.

The sound of Jar Jar investigating the folded-up droid caught their attention. The Gungan touched the droid's large lens that served as a sort of nose, and then yelped in surprise as the droid suddenly unfolded and sprang up. Jar Jar started to chase it around the shop without much success at capturing it. He finally had it around its 'neck', and it kicked him between the legs, which didn't have much effect (4).

"Hey! Hit the nose!" said Anakin, speaking as if it were perfectly obvious.

"Ohh!" said Jar Jar in realization, letting go of the droid and then poking it in the nose lens again.

It folded up as if it had never come to life in the first place. Jar Jar leaned over it to make sure it was deactivated.

Suddenly, the bell at the entrance of the store rang and a young, feminine voice said, "Oh, we have costumers?"

Anakin and Padmé turned to see a young girl a little older than Anakin standing just inside the doorway, holding some wrapped up packages.

She was a strange-looking girl, with funny, downward-slanted eyes that were a light blue in color, and tannish skin that looked like her natural skin color. She was most likely a Near-Human (5), because she had pointed ears. Her hair was black with blue highlights in the sun, boyishly short and pulled back in a tiny ponytail at the base of her neck. Her clothes were like a boy's, similar to Anakin's.

"**Huta ya nolia**!" said the girl, bowing deeply to the Queen's handmaiden, who understood Huttese.

"Watto is gonna yell at you. Even _I_ think you took too long," muttered Anakin.

"Oi (hey)! Haggling is not as easy as it sounds! It took me forever to get one vendor to drop his prices," said the girl, and then turned to Padmé.

"I'm Kagome, and I work here along with Anakin. Watto usually sends me out to get supplies for him, since I'm such a good haggler," the blue-eyed girl said, smiling brightly at Padmé.

––Iccccccccccccco

Out in the scrap-yard, Watto was speaking to Qui-Gon as they walked down the path in among the heaps of metal.

"A T-14 hyperdrive generator… you be in luck. I'm the only one hereabouts who has one, but you might as well buy a new ship. It would be cheaper, I think," said Watto, laughing a little.

"Saying of which, how's a-thee going to pay for all this?" he asked.

"I have twenty thousand Republic dataries," said Qui-Gon.

"Republic credits? Republic credits are no good out here, I need something more real," said Watto, rubbing a couple of fingers together to signify 'money'.

"I don't have anything else…but credits will do fine," said Qui-Gon, waving his left hand at Watto.

"No, they won't," said Watto.

"Credits _will_ do fine," repeated Qui-Gon, waving his hand again.

"No! They won't! What, you think you're some kind of Jedi, waving your hand around like that? I'm a Toydarian; mind tricks don't work on me, only money," said Watto angrily. "No money, no parts, no deal! And no one _else_ has a T-4 hyperdrive, I can promise you that!"

Qui-Gon smiled his thanks, though it was forced. He turned around and left Watto, R2-D2 at his heels.

––Iccccccccccccco

"I wouldn't have lasted long…if I wasn't so good at building things. And Kagome is the best haggler Watto has ever seen, though he won't admit it," said Anakin scornfully to Padmé.

Kagome was behind the counter checking something, and Jar Jar was busy trying to prevent a stack of parts that he had taken out from falling. He was doing quite a good job at juggling them. Suddenly, Qui-Gon strode into the shop and appeared somewhat mad.

"We're leaving. Jar Jar," said Qui-Gon, calling to the young Gungan.

There was a bigger crash as Jar Jar tried to disentangle himself from some droid parts. Padmé was walking backwards, towards the door.

"I'm glad to have met you, Anakin, Kagome," she said, smiling.

"I was glad to meet you, too!" Anakin called after her.

"We will meet again! I can feel it!" Kagome added.

Anyone else would have passed this off, thinking that it wouldn't happen. But Kagome's predictions always seemed to come true.

Jar Jar and R2 left the shop as well, though Jar Jar seemed to have a little trouble discerning which direction Qui-Gon and Padmé had gone. Watto flew up beside Anakin and sighed.

"**Ootmians** (outworlders)! **Tinka me chasa hopoe ma booty na nolia** (they think we know nothing)!" he said with disgust.

"**Bulova numa toffa** (they seemed nice to me)," said Anakin innocently.

"**Fweepa niaga** (clean the racks). **Tolpy da bunky dunko** (then you can go home)," said Watto, and Anakin ran to the back with a happy 'yippee!'.

Watto turned his bulbous eyes on Kagome, who waited for him to speak.

"**Coona tee-tocky malia, chik** (what took you so long, girl)?" he asked in that strange, gravelly voice of his.

"One vendor was being unreasonable," said Kagome, gesturing to the packages on the counter.

Watto flew over and began to sort through them.

"You're lucky you're so good at haggling. Otherwise, I would take Sebulba up at his offer and sell you to him," said Watto.

Kagome felt a shiver go down her spine. She loathed Sebulba; he was such a cheater at the podraces, and he wanted Kagome because of her 'gifts'.

Watto noticed her just standing there.

"What are you waiting for, **koochoo** (stupid)? Clean up the mess that **ootmian** (outworlder) made!" snapped Watto, and Kagome scrambled to clean up the scattered droid parts that Jar Jar had disrupted.

Watto stared out the door where Qui-Gon and the others had gone, his eyes narrowed.

––Iccccccccccccco

Back at the silver Nubian ship, Obi-Wan was speaking to Qui-Gon through his com-link.

"…And you're sure there's nothing left on board?" came Qui-Gon's voice from the link.

"A few containers of supplies, the queen's wardrobe, maybe, but not enough for you to barter with. Not in the amount you're talking about," replied Obi-Wan.

"Alright. I'm sure another solution will present itself. I'll check back later."

_**End**_

––Iccccccccccccco

**Author's Notes**

(1) Wow, who would've guessed?

(2) Huttese is the language they speak on Tatooine as well as on the surrounding planet systems. It is the second most-spoken language in the galaxy after Galactic Basic because of the Hutts' criminal influence

(3) 'Galactic Basic' is what they call English, and is the most common language spoken

(4) LOL ^o^

(5) A 'Near-Human' is a member of a species that is very closely related to humans biologically, but usually has some differences in appearance

––Iccccccccccccco

It sure is a lot shorter than my other story's chapters, huh? This was around nine pages, while I usually try to type around thirty for each chapter.

I did some research for this AND had to watch the same parts of the movie over and over on YouTube. Sigh… Anyway I hope you liked it, 'cause there's more to come! ^_^


	2. Chapter II: Sandstorm

Wow, I hadn't expected any reviews immediately! After all, I noticed that Star Wars and InuYasha crossovers are very rare on this site. Thanx, people!

Disclaimer: …Don't make me say it…(lawyer glares) Fine! I don't own InuYasha OR Star Wars! There! Happy? (lawyer nods and leaves)

"speaking"

'_thinking_'

"**Huttese**"

**Ages:**

Shmi Skywalker – 40

**Chapter II: Sandstorm**

––Iccccccccccccco

"_Jinn always does things his own way, always sure he is right, always incredulous if we do not see it his way. Some think he is a gray Jedi._"

~ Master Tyvokka (12 years deceased)

––Iccccccccccccco

"No ahgain! No ahgain! Da beins hereabouts cawazy! Wesa be robbed 'n crunched!" said Jar Jar nervously, waving his arms at Qui-Gon.

They had found shelter between two adobe-like buildings, perfect for keeping out of sight. And for good reason, for beyond them, in the street, were many dangerous-looking beings going about on their daily business.

"Not likely; we have nothing of value. That's our problem," said Qui-Gon in response to Jar Jar's statement.

The Jedi Knight turned and went back out into the street, followed by Jar Jar and Padmé. R2-D2 whistled and chirped, following the others.

They passed a stall that had many small, amphibian-like creatures on sale for eating. Jar Jar paused and decided he wanted one. Looking around to see if anyone was watching, he used his long tongue to grab one of the amphibians and pull it into his mouth. Unfortunately, the creature was tied up on a wire, and the vendor noticed him.

"Hey! Hey! **U wamma wonka** (you going to pay for that)?" asked the vendor angrily.

"Huh?" said Jar Jar, his mouth full of frog or whatever it was.

"**Toe hawa wupe upee** (it costs seven wupiupi)," said the ugly vendor, and Jar Jar's reaction was very noticeable.

He let go of the 'frog' with an exclamation, which ricocheted backwards on its wire. It came off the wire, and landed into the drink of someone he didn't want to mess with.

"**Chuba** (you)!" said the 'someone', clearly pissed off.

"Oops," said Jar Jar, who seemed to have noticed he was in trouble.

He began to walk away, whistling innocently. But that put him closer to the ruffian, who leapt up out of his seat with a snarl, and kicked Jar Jar backwards. The Gungan sprawled into the sand.

The ruffian was an interesting-looking fellow. He preferred to use his arms to get around instead of his legs, both of which seemed very underdeveloped. The appendages also seemed to have swapped roles; while the arms did the walking, the legs and the feet were used to carry or grab things. But Dugs, which was his race, were able to use their arms and legs ambidextrously.

"**Ni chuba ni** (is this yours)?" asked the creature, towering over Jar Jar with the 'frog' clasped in one of his hand-like feet.

"Who, mesa?" began Jar Jar, who was cut off as the ruffian grabbed him around the throat, cutting off his air.

"**Kulka du pom pom** (do you want to be squashed)…mmmm?" questioned the creature harming Jar-Jar.

Qui-Gon seemed to have finally noticed what was going on, and turned around. Padmé noticed Jar Jar, as well. But the creature let go of Jar Jar when Anakin suddenly appeared.

"**Chess ko** (careful), Sebulba. **Cha porkman ootman geesa** (he's a big time outlander). **Me teesa rodda co pana pee choppa chowa** (I'd hate to see you diced before we race again)," said Anakin, laughter in his voice.

"**Neek me chowa, wermo, mo killee ma klounkee** (next time we race, boy, it will be the end of you)! **Una noto wo shag, me wompity du pom pom** (if you weren't a slave, I'd squash you right now)!" said 'Sebulba'.

The ruffian turned to look behind Anakin to see Kagome, who was _not_ standing up close him, unlike the boy. He narrowed his eyes and they gleamed, but he returned to his original seat.

"**Eh, che bana do mullee ra** (yeah, it'd be a pity if you had to pay for me)," said Anakin disdainfully.

Qui-Gon, Padmé, and R2 approached. Kagome came up behind Anakin hesitantly, since Sebulba was so near.

"Hi," said Anakin friendlily as Qui-Gon came up to him.

"Hi, there," said Qui-Gon.

"Your buddy here was about to become orange goo. He picked a fight with a Dug, an especially dangerous Dug called Sebulba," explained Anakin as Qui-Gon helped Jar-Jar up.

"Are you alright? Does your neck feel okay?" asked Kagome from behind Anakin, her blue eyes worried.

"Mesa okay. Mesa hatin' crunchin'. Dat's da last thing mesa wantin'," said Jar Jar, shrugging.

Kagome giggled at his accent.

"Nevertheless, the boy's right. You're heading into trouble. Thanks, my young friend," said Qui-Gon, nodding to Anakin.

"But, mesa doin' nothing!" protested Jar Jar as they set off down the street once more.

"I'm Anakin Skywalker," said the blonde-haired boy to Qui-Gon.

"And I am Higurashi Kagome, but you can just call me Kagome, or 'Gome. That's what my friends call me," said Kagome, managing a small bow as they walked.

"You say your last name first?" asked Padmé.

"Well, yes. That was the custom where I came from; at least, I _think_ it was the custom. I can't really remember," Kagome said, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Kagome, we have to get some groceries, remember?" Anakin reminded her.

"Oh, yeah! Kaa-san (mom) would be upset with us if we forgot!" said Kagome, pounding a fist into her open palm.

Everyone else except Anakin, Jar Jar, and R2 raised an eyebrow at the term 'kaa-san', but said nothing. Anakin didn't because he was used to it, and Jar Jar and R2 because they didn't have eyebrows. Jar Jar merely blinked in confusion.

To Qui-Gon, the faint accent and the word usage the girl used was elusively familiar, but he couldn't recall why it was for the moment.

"I'm Qui-Gon Jinn," said the Jedi, smiling a little at the children.

The girl Kagome smiled cutely at him and nodded.

"Here, Ani (1)! Jira's is this way!" she said, pointed down an adjoining a street.

"I _do_ know my way around here," muttered Anakin darkly.

-o-o-o-

The wind was starting to pick up on the outskirts of the city. Obi-Wan was standing out in the swirling dust, his eyes shaded with his hand.

"This storm will slow them down," he stated to Captain Panaka, who had just come up beside him.

"Looks pretty bad," said Panaka, and then his com-link buzzed.

"Panaka," he said, putting his com-link up near his mouth.

"We're receiving a message from home," said one of the officers on the ship.

"We'll be right there," acknowledged Panaka, turning to go back to the ship.

Obi-Wan followed him with a swirl of his Jedi robes.

––Iccccccccccccco

Qui-Gon was looking at the sky, sensing the oncoming sandstorm.

"Here, you'll like these pallies. Here," said Anakin, holding out a package to Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon's group had joined up with Anakin's, and Anakin was currently shopping for food. He had just bought 'pallies' from Jira, one of the poorer and older human vendors that sold fruit. She was fond of both Anakin and Kagome.

"Oh, thank you," said Qui-Gon, noticing that Anakin was talking to him, and took the little package.

He lifted up his poncho and tucked the package into his belt, revealing for a second the lightsaber strapped to it. Kagome and Anakin noticed, but said nothing and turned away.

"Oh, my bones are aching! Storm's comin' up, Ani! You'd better get home quick!" said Jira, patting Anakin on the arm.

The group walked away from Jira's vending stall, and the blonde-haired boy looked up at Qui-Gon.

"Do you have shelter?" Anakin asked Qui-Gon.

"We'll head back to our ship," said Qui-Gon as they went out onto the street again.

"Is it very far?" asked Kagome.

"It's on the outskirts," said Padmé.

"You'll never reach the outskirts in time. Sandstorms are very, very dangerous. C'mon, I'll take you to our place," said Anakin, leading the others to where he lived.

"The sandstorm will be here in a few minutes. You won't be able to see anything, what with the sand in your eyes," explained Kagome, walking beside Anakin.

R2 beeped as he followed along behind the others.

––Iccccccccccccco

Several minutes later, they had reached the Slave Quarters in the city of Mos Espa. The sand was starting to blow, and they had to shield their eyes in order to reach Anakin's home. The boy reached for a switch on the outside of one of the hovels and opened the door.

Entering the hovel, Anakin sighed and Kagome shook her head vigorously. For some reason, she seemed to accumulate a lot of sand in her hair whenever a sandstorm happened to roll in.

"Mom! Mom, we're home!" called Anakin into the depths of the small house.

"Ooh, dissen cozy," said Jar Jar, as a middle-aged woman emerged from one of the doors leading deeper into the house.

The woman paused when she saw Anakin and Kagome had company. She gave the two children a questioning look.

"These are our friends, Mom," said Anakin, looking at Padmé.

"There's a sandstorm going on," said Kagome, who had taken out her ponytail and was scratching at her scalp to dislodge any stray particles of sand.

"Hello," said Jar Jar in a friendly way.

"I'm Qui-Gon Jinn," said the older man to Anakin's mother.

"I'm building a droid. Do you wanna see?" Anakin eagerly asked Padmé.

"Your son was kind enough to offer us shelter," continued Qui-Gon.

"C'mon, I'll show you 3P0!" said Anakin, taking Padmé's hand and dragging her off to his room.

Jar Jar was busy examining everything he could see, bending down and peering over things. Kagome seemed very interested in him.

"Ano (um), you look like you come from somewhere very wet and green," Kagome said to him.

"Mesa homeworld isa muy muy wets. Mesa lives in da water," said Jar Jar.

"It must be a bit of a culture shock for you, then, coming to such a dry planet as Tatooine," said Kagome, smiling.

"Yessa, itsa muy dries hereza," agreed Jar Jar.

Qui-Gon and Anakin's mother watched this exchange with amusement.

"Will you tell me about your world? I'll tell you about Tatooine, in exchange," asked Kagome, though her eyes were clearly begging him to tell her.

Jar Jar blinked his googly eyes at her and then smiled in his strange, toothy way.

"Okey-dokey!" he said, and Kagome led him by the hand to sit in the kitchen in one of the adjoining rooms.

"Anakin and Kagome both love to hear about other worlds. It makes them happy. I'm Anakin's mother, Shmi Skywalker," said the woman, confirming Qui-Gon's suspicions.

"Kagome lives here, as well?" asked Qui-Gon.

"Yes. When Watto acquired her, I was happy to take her in. She and Anakin are just like siblings, complete with the quarrels," said Shmi, smiling.

Qui-Gon chuckled and said, "That seems to be the job of siblings; to make each other's lives as difficult as they can. But, tell me, what does 'kaa-san' mean?"

Shmi gave a small smile and replied, "That's the word for 'mother' in her language. She knows several, including Basic and Huttese. They both have their own gifts, she and Anakin."

"Why does she dress like a boy?" asked Qui-Gon.

"It's for her protection. She's at a very vulnerable age," answered Shmi.

Qui-Gon nodded, but the suspicion in him grew. The two children put off a weird vibe. Both of them drew the Force, like Jedi did, though it was stronger with the boy. Disturbances in the Force were like rocks in a river; it created gaps and the Force flowed around them. It was usually easy to spot these types of disturbances. Until the person in question started their Jedi training, their presence in the Force stayed like this. But what confused Qui-Gon was the fact that the Force was already starting to flow _through_ the girl, as if she had started to train in the ways of the Jedi.

Qui-Gon strongly suspected what Anakin was, but the girl…had she had Jedi training prior to becoming a slave?

––Iccccccccccccco

"Isn't he great? He's not finished yet," said Anakin as he pulled the cloth off of the droid he was working on.

R2 had followed them into Anakin's dimly lit room, and Padmé was looking at the droid Anakin had uncovered.

"He's wonderful," said Padmé, amazed that this young boy was building such a thing.

"You really like him? He's a protocol droid, to help Mom. Watch," said Anakin, and pushed a switch up near the droid's neck.

The eye of the droid – for he only had one at the moment – glowed yellow, and the droid jerked to life.

"O-oh! Where is everybody?" asked the droid as it sat upright.

"Oops!" said Anakin, and reached over to grab the droid's other eye lying nearby.

He blew on it a little, and said, "Okay," once he confirmed it was clean enough.

He then put it into place with a little 'click!'.

"Oh, hello! I am C-3PO, Human-Cyborg Relations. How might I serve you?" asked the droid in an annoyingly intelligent voice.

"He's perfect!" said Padmé, and C-3PO turned to look at her.

"Huh? 'Perfect'?" said 3-P0.

"When the sandstorm's over, I'll show you my racer. I'm building a podracer," said Anakin proudly as the protocol droid walked near R2-D2.

"I'm not sure this floor is entirely stable," said C-3PO, wobbling back and forth.

He spotted R2 and said, "Oh, hello, I don't believe we've been introduced!"

R2 beeped and whistled at him, the light on his head flashing from red to blue a multitude of times.

"R2-D2! It's a pleasure to meet you! I am C-3PO, Human-Cyborg Relations."

R2 looked down at the protocol droid's body, and then back up again, beeping quickly.

"I beg your pardon, but what do you mean 'naked'?" asked C-3PO.

R2 explained in the only way he knew how, by whistling and beeping.

"My parts are showing? My goodness! Oh!" cried 3P0 with horror.

––Iccccccccccccco

The Queen of Naboo, her handmaidens, Panaka, a couple of his officers, and Obi-Wan watched the holographic message that the governor of Naboo, Sio Bibble (2), had sent.

"…The death toll is catastrophic! You must bow to their wishes! You _must _contact me!" said the hologram version of the governor.

"It's a trick; send no reply. Send no transmissions of any kind," said Obi-Wan as he stood and the image flickered out of existence.

He left the room to go contact his master in the control room.

––Iccccccccccccco

"It sounds like bait to establish a connection trace," said Qui-Gon quietly into his com-link.

He was standing out of sight and hearing, while the others behind him were preparing lunch to eat.

"What if it _is_ true? And the people _are_ dying?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Either way, we're running out of time," said Qui-Gon, and switched off his com-link.

He tucked it into his belt and turned around to go back into the kitchen, only to find Kagome standing there, silently watching him. Qui-Gon felt pinned by her blue gaze, and then she smiled at him and turned away to help Shmi prepare something to cook. Qui-Gon let out his breath, and realized he had been holding it. Those strange eyes of hers were soul-piercing…

––Iccccccccccccco

On the planet Coruscant, two cloaked figures were walking along a balcony that overlooked the huge city. At first glance, one might have guessed they were a Jedi Knight and their Padawan learner out for a stroll or on business. But these two had a darker, sinister purpose.

"Tatooine is sparsely populated… If the trace was correct, I will find them quickly, Master," said one of the cloaked people in a soft, young man's voice.

"Move against the Jedi first. You will then have no difficulty in taking the queen to Naboo to sign the treaty," said the second person, an elderly man by the sound of it.

"At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi… At last we will have our revenge," said the first male.

In the flashing lights from passing cruisers, you could see his face under his hood. His face was crimson red with intricate black tattoos on it, especially around his eyes and mouth. His eyes looked yellow, as well. On his head, you could barely see small, stubbly horns peeking out from underneath the depths of his dark hood. All in all, a scary-looking being, a being known as a Zabrak.

"You have been well-trained, my young apprentice. They will be no match for you," said the elderly man.

––Iccccccccccccco

In Anakin's little home, they had finally sat down to eat. The sandstorm was still brewing outside, so Qui-Gon's group was happy to have lunch. Shmi was serving food, and Jar Jar was slurping at his food rather loudly.

"All slaves have a transmitter placed inside their body somewhere," Shmi was explaining.

"I've been working on a scanner to locate mine," said Anakin.

"Any attempt to escape…" began Shmi.

"…And it'll blow you up! Boom!" finished Anakin, thumping his hand on the table for emphasis.

"How wude," said Jar Jar, horrified at the idea.

"I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's anti-slavery laws are–" began Padmé.

"The Republic doesn't exist out here. We must survive on our own," Shmi interrupted.

At that split second, Jar Jar stuck out his long tongue and snapped up one of the fruits in a bowl on the table. Everyone looked at him, and Qui-Gon gave him a dirty look.

"'Scuse," said Jar Jar, after swallowing the fruit whole.

"Has anybody ever seen a podrace?" asked Anakin, trying to break up the silence.

"They have podracing on Malastare. Very fast. Very dangerous," commented Qui-Gon.

"I'm the only human that can do it," said Anakin, and then cried out when Kagome kicked him in the leg.

"What was that for!" he protested.

"You're such a fibber, Ani! You just don't want to admit that I can do it, too!" said Kagome, glaring at him.

"You're not as good as me! And Watto never lets you race! You crashed a pod the last time, remember?" said Anakin.

"But I can do it, can't I!" said Kagome, and kicked him in the leg again.

"You both must have Jedi reflexes if you race pods," said Qui-Gon calmly, and that broke up the fight.

Jar Jar stuck out his tongue again in a flash and had captured another piece of fruit. But suddenly, Qui-Gon had the Gungan's tongue between his thumb and his forefinger. The piece of fruit rolled away onto the floor.

"Don't do that again," said Qui-Gon casually.

Jar Jar said something that they couldn't understand, seeing as how Qui-Gon had his tongue. Then Qui-Gon let go, and his tongue snapped back into his mouth. The Gungan shook his head quickly to rid the feeling of Qui-Gon's fingers latched onto his tongue. Anakin was silent, and toyed with something on the table.

"You're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?" he asked, looking up at Qui-Gon.

"What makes you think that?" asked Qui-Gon, and Padmé watched with a little bit of fear.

"I saw your laser sword. Only Jedis carry that kind of weapon," said Anakin.

Qui-Gon sat back in his chair and said, smiling slowly, "Perhaps I killed a Jedi and took it from him."

"I don't think so. No one can kill a Jedi," said Anakin confidently.

A snort was heard from Kagome, and she muttered, "Baka (idiot)."

"I wish that were so," said Qui-Gon, smiling a little.

"I had a dream I was a Jedi. I came back here and freed all the slaves. Have you come to free us?" asked Anakin.

"No," said Qui-Gon quickly, "I'm afraid not."

"I think you have. Why else would you be here?" said Anakin.

"And maybe eopies will sprout wings and start to fly," muttered Kagome.

Anakin glared at her and then looked at Padmé, who looked down guiltily. Then he looked back at Qui-Gon. A creak was heard as Kagome slowly leaned over the table to look past Anakin and gave Qui-Gon an intimidating stare. Her look clearly said, '_Don't you _dare_ lie to him_'.

"I can see there is no fooling you, Anakin," said Qui-Gon, leaning forward and propping himself up on his elbows. "We're on our way to Coruscant, the central system in the Republic, on a _very_ important mission."

"How did you end up out here in the Outer Rim?" asked Anakin, not understanding why Qui-Gon would be here if that was the case.

"Our ship was damaged and we're stranded here until we can repair it," explained Padmé.

"I can help! I can fix _anything_!" volunteered Anakin, and Shmi smiled.

"I'm sure you can," said Qui-Gon with a laugh in his voice, "but first we must acquire the parts we need."

"Wit no-nutten mula to trade," piped up Jar Jar.

"These junk-dealers must have a weakness of some kind," said Padmé thoughtfully.

"That's easy. Almost every single one of them loves to gamble on the podraces. Everything around here circulates around it," offered up Kagome.

"Podracing. Greed can be a powerful ally," said Qui-Gon.

"I've built a racer; it's the fastest ever! There's a big race tomorrow, on Boonta Eve! You can enter my pod!" Anakin offered helpfully.

"Anakin! Watto won't let you!" said Shmi disapprovingly.

"Watto doesn't know I've built it! You can make him think it's yours, and could get him to let me pilot it for you!"

"I don't want you to race; it's awful! I die every time Watto makes you do it!" said Shmi, her face showing that she was afraid for her son.

"I'll race it," piped up Kagome, but slumped down dejectedly in her seat when Shmi gave her a stern look.

"But, Mom…I love it… The prize money would more than pay for the parts they need," said Anakin.

"Anakin," said Shmi again.

"Your mother's right. Is there anyone friendly to the Republic who could help us?" Qui-Gon asked Shmi.

Shmi shook her head and said, "No."

Silence fell over the table, and Kagome could feel the depression setting in. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Mom, you said that the biggest problem in this universe is that nobody helps each other," said Anakin, trying to get Shmi to give in.

Shmi looked at him and gave a small sigh.

"I'm sure Qui-Gon doesn't want to put your son in danger. We'll find some other way," said Padmé, trying to make Shmi feel better.

"No, there is no other way," said Shmi, and inhaled. "I may not _like_ it, but…he _can_ help you. He was _meant_ to help you."

Qui-Gon sat and thought gravely. Meanwhile, Kagome was trying to control the feelings that were welling up inside her. Anger at Anakin always getting the attention, disappointment at not getting to race, and fear for her little brother, even though he was the source of her anger.

'_Stop it. You _can't_ get angry. You know what happens when you get angry (3)_,' she told herself.

She managed to control herself, but a little slipped out. Her fork rattled on the table and fell off. Everyone looked sharply at her. The fork lay still on the floor and she gave them a blank look.

"What? My elbow slipped," she lied, and then bent under the table to retrieve the fork.

Padmé stared at the girl. Her elbow hadn't slipped…the fork had moved on its own! And she had lied about it, which meant she had done it! The only people capable of that were… Padmé's eyes drifted to Qui-Gon, and found him gazing solemnly back at her.

"Found it!" cried Kagome happily as she popped back above the table.

_**End**_

––Iccccccccccccco

**Author's Notes**

(1) 'Ani' is the nickname that Anakin's mother gave him

(2) What kind of name is that?

(3) You turn into…THE HULK! LOL

––Iccccccccccccco

It's the second chapter! Hip-hip-hooray! It's Valentine's Day! Not really. But it is the second chapter! And flames are accepted, 'cause that way I will have something to bitch and moan about _and_ be able to write better. 'Kay?

Ja ne! ;)


	3. Chapter III: Can You Help Them?

Here's chappie number 3! Enjoy!

Disclaimer:

Kuroi: Guess what? Takahashi Rumiko sold me InuYasha for 500 yen!

***cricket chirps in silence***

The Rest of the Fanfiction World: WHAAT? SO CHEAP? You bitch!

Kuroi: ***ducks several shuriken and a cosplayer's Zangetsu (for some odd reason)*** Geez! Can't you people take a joke?

***sees the lawyer from last chapter***

Kuroi: ***points*** YOU! Don't you have anything better to do? I already told you that I don't own InuYasha or Star Wars!

***lawyer disappears in a poof of smoke***

Kuroi: ***sweatdrops*** Okay, I'm not gonna lie; that was frickin' weird ***clears throat and claps hands together*** Anyway, on with the chapter!

**Ages:**

Kitster Chanchani Banai – 9

W. Wald – 6

Seek – 10

Amee - 6

"speaking"

'_thinking_'

"**Huttese**"

**Chapter III: Can You Help Them?**

––Iccccccccccccco

"_It's not whether you win or lose, but how often."_

~ Unknown Herglic gambler

––Iccccccccccccco

The sandstorm was finally over. Sand was piled up over stalls that had been abandoned for shelter, and their owners were busy trying to shovel the sand away and fix any other damages. Qui-Gon, Padmé, and Jar Jar had returned to Watto's junkyard, while Anakin and Kagome had run ahead to continue working after their lunch break.

"Are you sure about this?" Padmé asked Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon paused in the doorway and looked back at her.

"Trusting our fate to a boy that we don't know? And a girl that can move objects without touching them?"

"What makes you say that?" asked Qui-Gon.

"I _saw_ the fork move and fall off the table, and she hadn't even touched it! She's like a…"

"A Jedi," finished Qui-Gon.

"W-well, yes. But the queen will not approve of this!" protested Padmé.

"The queen doesn't need to know," said Qui-Gon simply, and turned to go into the shop.

"Well, I don't approve," said Padmé sullenly, plopping down by the entrance.

The little bell chimed again, and Watto was waiting with Anakin. Kagome was behind the counter, doing something to keep her out of the way, but she was watching out of the corner of her eye. Apparently, Anakin had notified Watto of Qui-Gon's intentions.

"The boy tells me you want to sponsor him in the race! How can you do this? Not with Republic credits, I can tell you, huh."

Qui-Gon pulled out a small device that looked like some sort of watch or compass. A small hologram of the Nubian ship flickered over the device, beeping noises sounding.

"My ship will be the entry fee," stated Qui-Gon.

Anakin looked down at the hologram, and his mouth fell open a little. Kagome had stopped what she had been doing and was craning over to get a better look.

"Ohh… Not bad! Not bad, huh? Nubian, huh?" said Watto with an experienced eye, rubbing his chin.

"It's in good order, except for the parts I need," said Qui-Gon, and pushed a button on the device that made the hologram disappear.

"But what would the boy ride? He smashed up my pod in the last race. It will take some time to fix it," said Watto, giving Anakin a dirty look.

"It wasn't my fault!" Anakin spoke up, looking at Qui-Gon. "Really! Sebulba flashed me with his vents. I actually saved the pod, mostly."

A cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh being concealed was heard from behind the counter.

Watto laughed, shaking his finger at Anakin, and said, "That you did. The boy's good, no doubts there!"

"I have acquired a pod in a game of Chance. 'The fastest ever built'," said Qui-Gon, looking down at Anakin.

"I hope you didn't _kill_ anyone I know for it, huh?" said Watto, his arms folded in front of his chest, smirking.

A snicker was heard from behind the counter this time. Qui-Gon smirked, as well, while Watto laughed.

"So, you supply the pod and the entry fee, I supply the boy, and we split the winnings, um…fifty-fifty, I think," said Watto.

"If it's going to be fifty-fifty, I suggest you front the cash for the entry. If we win, you keep all the winnings, minus the cost of the parts I need. And if we lose, you keep my ship," said Qui-Gon, approaching Watto and then walking around him and back again.

"Either way, you win," offered up Qui-Gon.

Anakin looked at Qui-Gon, who looked right back. Watto contemplated for a moment. Kagome, however, was milk-white. All the color had drained from her face, and her blue eyes were wide with fear. Anakin hadn't told Qui-Gon about the state his pod was in or…

"Deal!" exclaimed Watto, and slapped his hand into Qui-Gon's palm to make it official.

Qui-Gon was smiling a little, and glanced at Anakin, who was smiling a little as well, as he went out.

"**Yo bana pee ho-tah, meedee ya** (your friend is a foolish one, methinks)," said Watto, looking at Anakin, who folded his arms across his chest defiantly.

'_Iie (no), Anakin's the fool for leading that nice man and his companions on like that,_' thought Kagome.

"**Chuba** (you)! Get back to work! I might sell you to Sebulba at the upcoming race, if he offers again!" Watto barked to Kagome.

Kagome's face drained of color again and she hastily began tapping in numbers on the touch-sensitive screen of Watto's datapad, which acted as his account book. She did not want to go to Sebulba! He had wanted her to be his slave for as long as she could remember.

_***Flashback***_

"_**I have heard that this one can predict the outcome of everyone in the race. Will you sell her to me? Me bosco de un shag**__ (I'm looking for a slave)," Sebulba stated in Huttese, looking at seven year-old Kagome hungrily._

_Kagome didn't have an adult to hide behind, since Watto spent most of his time in the air, those wings of his flapping rapidly. She felt very vulnerable under the Dug's gaze, and very uncomfortable. He was looking at her like she was something to eat._

"_**Cha skrunee da pat**__ (don't count on it)!" stated Watto irritably, and pushed his way past Sebulba._

_Kagome followed close behind, looking at Sebulba fearfully. She and Watto were on their way to watch Anakin race his first pod in an official competition. Watto was going to bet only a little on Anakin, and save his bigger bets for Sebulba. Why the Dug was not at the Mos Espa Raceway at the moment was a mystery._

––Iccccccccccccco

_Kagome was now nine. Once again, she accompanied Watto to the Raceway. And once again, Sebulba was waiting for them, not for the second time either. His little orange eyes gleamed when he saw Kagome._

"_**Changed your mind yet?**__" asked the Dug in Huttese._

"_**Nobata**__ (no). __**Not yet**__," said Watto, responding in the same language._

_Not for the first time, Kagome realized that Watto didn't like her as much as Anakin. Anakin was a moneymaker for Watto, while Kagome seemed to get in the way. Haggling was the only thing she could do, it seemed. Watto didn't seem to believe in her ability to predict the future, so he didn't use it to his advantage. It was only a matter of time before she was sold to Sebulba. She didn't know what kind of life she would have, but she imagined it wouldn't be very pleasant._

––Iccccccccccccco

_A year had passed, and Sebulba had not given up, despite Watto's hesitance. Kagome wondered why the smelly Toydarian hadn't sold her yet. She could almost hear the ticking of the countdown until she was sold to Sebulba._

Tick. Tick. Tick…

_But another year had passed, and then another, and he hadn't sold her yet…_

_***End Flashback***_

"We can go home now, Kagome," said Anakin, waving his hand in front of her face.

Kagome blinked, and looked down at the datapad. Scrolling down with a button, she saw that she had filled in many entries, much to her surprise, and the math seemed to be correct. Sighing, Kagome turned off the datapad and placed it under the counter. Weird things like that seemed to happen when she was zoning out.

Following Anakin out of the shop, she watched her feet, hands in her pockets. She hardly noticed where she was going, until Anakin grabbed her by the arm.

"Watch it!" he said, as a space cruiser sped by.

Angered, Kagome jerked her arm out of his grasp.

"Don't tell me what to do!" she spat.

"Calm down! I was just trying to stop you from being run over, is all!" said Anakin.

"Well, don't! Better to be hit by a cruiser and die than being sold to Sebulba!" muttered Kagome as they crossed the street.

"So that's what's the matter? Watto really wouldn't sell you, 'Gome. I won't let him!" soothed Anakin.

Kagome couldn't help but smile at him.

"I should be the one looking out for you, not the other way around," she said with a laugh, reaching over and ruffling his hair affectionately.

"I can take care of myself!" protested Anakin, ducking away from her hand.

"Aww! Wittle Ani doesn't need his big sister anymore?" asked Kagome teasingly, mock-pouting.

This made Anakin grumble to himself, which in turn caused Kagome to laugh. Her worries about Watto and Sebulba were temporarily forgotten, but they lurked in the back of her mind, waiting for the chance to strike.

––Iccccccccccccco

When they arrived in the Slave Quarters at Anakin's home, Kagome was in a fairly good mood. Anakin touched the panel outside the door and it slid open.

"We're back!" called Anakin as they went in.

Kagome said nothing, but began to hum and walk while bouncing on the balls of her feet. She stuffed her hands into her pockets while doing so.

"You're very cheerful today, Kagome. Did something happen?" asked Shmi, seeing Kagome's mood.

Kagome gave Shmi a smile and said, "Ani gets to race! That's good news."

She entered the kitchen, where Qui-Gon and the others were residing.

"Finish work for the day?" asked Qui-Gon.

"Yep!" said Kagome, and went into Anakin's room.

She emerged a couple of seconds later with a device she had been working on. While Anakin took on the larger projects, Kagome tended to work on small projects that had no use whatsoever. This time, she was trying to unlock the memories stored in a thick, round disk-like machine.

Kagome had been told by Watto, in his own degrading way, that this particular device had been found in the escape pod that Kagome had crashed on Tatooine in. Watto had simply discarded it, but Kagome had eventually dug it out of a rubbish heap. Then she had smuggled it out of Watto's shop and brought it back here, where she had been trying to unlock it ever since. It had been several years now, and nothing but static had appeared in the hologram over the disk.

"What's that?" asked Padmé curiously.

"Just something I work on when I get bored. It's supposed to be a memory disk," replied Kagome.

Carefully, she used one of the tools that she shared with Anakin to tinker with the side of the disk. There was an opening on its thin side filled to the brim with tiny memory panels and intricate wires.

"Does it serve any purpose?" asked Qui-Gon.

"No. Ani does that kind of stuff. This was found with me when I came to Tatooine," said Kagome.

"You're not from here?" asked Padmé.

"I don't remember where I'm from, because I have…what was it called? Am-nay-shuh? No, that's not it…" said Kagome, her brow furrowed with concentration.

"Amnesia?" suggested Qui-Gon.

"Yes!" exclaimed Kagome, snapping her fingers. "Amnesia! Apparently, my brain got some damage on the ride down. I have scar right here where it happened."

Kagome ran her fingers over the left side of her scalp, tracing the long, thin scar there. It was hidden by her hair and could only be found by touch.

At this point, Shmi and Anakin entered the kitchen.

"Anakin told me that Watto threatened to sell you to Sebulba again," said Shmi.

"Tattletale," grumbled Kagome, sending Anakin a dirty look.

"Well, what did you do this time?" asked Shmi.

"I laughed when I should have kept my mouth shut," replied Kagome, gently prodding one of the wires in the disk object with a tool.

"Why does Watto want to sell you?" asked Qui-Gon.

"Because I always do things that make him angry. Even though I'm probably the best haggler in Mos Espa. Watto only cares about the podraces, his business, and gambling," said Kagome glumly.

"He used to like her, though. Before Sebulba started ambushing him at almost every podrace to ask him if he would sell him 'Gome since she was seven," said Anakin, earning another dirty look from Kagome.

"Mesa no likes dat bein'! Mesa almost got a'crunchin' 'cause of him!" exclaimed Jar Jar.

R2 beeped his agreement from the corner of the room (1).

"That's weird. Why would Sebulba pursue Watto for you after all this time?" asked Padmé, who was getting even more curious about Kagome.

Kagome stayed silent; she didn't want anybody else to know about her 'gifts'. They would think she was a freak; she had been called one on several occasions. Anakin, to her dismay, answered instead.

"'Gome can predict everything in the podraces! Sebulba wants to make money from that," said the boy.

"Anakin Skywalker!" cried Kagome angrily. "You need to learn to keep your mouth shut!"

Anakin winced but held his ground; Shmi wasn't too happy with him either.

"Anakin! If Kagome didn't want to talk about it, then don't go and tell people anyway!" chided Shmi.

"You can predict _everything_?" asked Jar Jar in awe.

"No, not everything…" answered Kagome, wanting to curl up in a dark hole and hide there for the rest of her life.

It wasn't true that she could predict everything; sometimes she couldn't see what someone's outcome would be in the races. The gift came and went, and she could never use it when she wanted to. The thing had a mind of its own.

Padmé saw out of the corner of her eye that Qui-Gon was leaning over the table slightly, rubbing his mouth thoughtfully as he watched Kagome. His grey-blue eyes were filled with a strange light.

Trying to make up for his mistake, Anakin said, "Hey, do you want to help me put finishing touches to my pod?"

Kagome looked up and smiled a little. She knew he felt bad for blabbing without her consent, so she decided to take him up of his offer.

"Okay. You can help if you want," Kagome said, turning to face Qui-Gon and the others.

"Let me get 3PO!" cried Anakin, and dashed into his room.

Kagome followed close behind him and put away her device. Anakin emerged with tools in his hands, then Kagome, who had an unsteady C-3PO following her.

"Ready?" she asked, and Padmé and Jar Jar nodded.

They went out the back door of the hovel and came onto a balcony. They had to go down a set of stairs in order to get to the podracer.

"Are you going to help, Qui-Gon-san (suffix given to those with seniority or to be polite)?" Kagome called to Qui-Gon, who had just come out of the house.

He smiled and said, "No, thank you. I think I'd get in the way, don't you think?"

Kagome frowned at him and muttered something in her native tongue, looking away.

"Yoshi (good, okay)! Let's get started!" she said, clapping her hands together.

She raced down the steps, Anakin at her heels. Padmé and Jar Jar followed more slowly. How R2 and C-3PO managed to get down was a mystery.

"Wow! You've built _this_?" asked Padmé in amazement, when she first saw Anakin's podracer.

"Sure did!" said Anakin, his chest puffing up with pride.

Kagome shot him a dirty look (2) and elbowed him in the ribs. An 'oof!' came from Anakin. Kagome ran to get some wire, and handed it to him once he had caught his breath. Soon, all four were having fun at finishing up the podracer. Whether R2 and 3PO enjoyed it was also a mystery.

––Iccccccccccccco

Nearly half an hour had passed, and Qui-Gon had decided this was a good time to contact his Padawan learner.

"What if this plan fails, Master? We could be stuck here a _very_ long time," said Obi-Wan through Qui-Gon's com-link.

"Well, it's too dangerous to call for help, and a ship without a power supply isn't going to get us anywhere. And…" Qui-Gon said, pausing, "there's something about this girl and boy."

He disconnected from Obi-Wan and put away the com-link just before Shmi came out of the hovel. She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"You should be very proud of your son, and Kagome, as well. They both give without any thought of reward," said Qui-Gon.

"Well, Anakin knows nothing of greed. And Kagome is always happy to help someone in need, even if she gets in trouble afterward. They have…" said Shmi, pausing, trying to think of how to explain Anakin and Kagome's 'gifts'.

"They have special abilities," finished Qui-Gon.

"Yes," said Shmi.

"They can see things before they happen, though it seems stronger in Kagome. That's why they appear to have such quick reflexes. It's a Jedi trait," explained Qui-Gon.

"They both deserve better than a slave's life," said Shmi.

"Had Anakin been born in the Republic, we would have identified him earlier. I suspect that Kagome was, though. The Force is unusually strong with them, that much is clear. Who was Anakin's father?" asked Qui-Gon.

Shmi hesitated and then said, "There was no father."

Qui-Gon simply stared, though his suspicion of what Anakin was grew even bigger, if that was even possible.

"I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him. I can't explain what happened," said Shmi, shaking her head.

Qui-Gon nodded slightly.

"And of Kagome? Do you know anything of her origins?" asked Qui-Gon.

"All I know is that she crash-landed in an escape-pod on the outskirts of the city. She was immediately given to Gardulla the Hutt, who didn't want her, so Watto bought her," said Shmi.

"She has exhibited far more developed Jedi traits than Anakin, by actually using the Force to move things. It makes me wonder if she had been in training before she came here," mused Qui-Gon.

"Can you help them?" asked Shmi after a moment of silence.

"I don't know. I didn't actually come here to free slaves," said Qui-Gon, and Shmi looked saddened for her son and Kagome.

––Iccccccccccccco

A group of Anakin and Kagome's friends ran up to where the others were working on the podracer.

"Hey, Ani, 'Gome!" called several of them.

"Wow, a real astro droid! How do you get so lucky?" said one of the boys, who was called Kitster; he was looking enviously at the beeping R2.

"That isn't the half of it! I'm entered in the Boonta Race tomorrow!" said Anakin boastfully.

"What! With _this_?" asked Kitster unbelievingly.

"**Un ni joka**, **Ani** (you're such a joker, Ani)!" laughed one of the other boys, who was a Rodian named Wald.

"You've been working on that thing for years!" said one girl named Amee.

"It's never gonna run!" said another girl called Melee, who had a secret crush on Anakin.

"Come on, let's go play ball! Keep racing, Ani, and you're gonna be bug squash!" said a boy named Seek, who ran off with the other children close behind, except for Kitster.

"**Cha skrunee da pat, stoopa** (don't count on it, stupid)!" Kagome called after him.

Anakin noticed that Jar Jar was getting close to the energy binders on the pod. The energy binders were one of the sources of energy for podracers, and could be identified by the thin beam of electric-like energy stretched between the two of them. Jar Jar was currently working on one of the energy panels near them.

"Hey, Jar Jar!" called Anakin, and the Gungan jumped, dropping the tool he was using in his surprise.

"Keep away from those energy binders," Anakin continued. "If your hand gets caught in the beam, it's gonna go numb for _hours_."

"Okay," said Jar Jar quietly (3), reaching down for the tool he dropped.

Unfortunately, his head got caught in the beam. He made a garbled cry and managed to get out of it, but dropped the 'wrench' he was using in the process. Kagome, who had known it was going to happen, sighed. Jar Jar tried to say something about his tongue and the wrench, but since his tongue was numb and hanging out of his mouth, it came out as gibberish.

He reached in one of the afterburners to pull the wrench out, but got his hand stuck in the process, while the wrench fell out. He tried to pull his hand out and notify Anakin he was stuck, but couldn't.

"Ani! I'm stuck! Ani!" said Jar Jar, though no one could understand him.

"You know, I find that Jar Jar creature to be a little odd," said C-3PO, who was working with R2 on the energy binder opposite of Jar Jar.

R2 beeped in agreement.

Meanwhile, Anakin was climbing into the cockpit of the racer.

"You don't even know this thing's gonna run!" said Kitster in protest.

"It will," said Anakin confidently.

Qui-Gon came up and handed Anakin something, saying, "I think it's time we found out. Here, use this power charge."

"Helping now, are we?" muttered Kagome darkly as she went over to help Jar Jar.

"Yes, sir!" said Anakin.

"C'mon, Kitster. Let's move away," said Qui-Gon, grabbing Kitster's hand and leading him off to the side.

Jar Jar began to really protest, and drew the attention of Padmé, as well. Both girls began trying to help Jar Jar pull his hand out before Anakin started the podracer, evading his flailing arms.

"You're quite right. He's very odd indeed," said 3PO when R2 beeped something.

Padmé managed to jerk Jar Jar's hand out of the afterburner.

"Thank you!" Jar Jar said, though it was a bit hard to understand him.

The Gungan gave a thumbs-up to Qui-Gon, his tongue hanging out. Kagome snorted with laughter. Anakin began trying to turn the podracer on by pushing a switch in the cockpit a couple of times. Pale flames sputtered and roared in the afterburners, while everyone except Anakin watched from the sidelines. The pod rose from the ground. Padmé smiled, and Qui-Gon exhaled in what looked almost like relief.

"It's working! It's working!" shouted Anakin over the din of the podracer.

"Yeah! I knew you could do it, Ani!" yelled Kagome, throwing up her arms.

From the balcony, Shmi watched sadly.

––Iccccccccccccco

It was evening, and Qui-Gon was tending to the cuts that Anakin and Kagome had gotten while working on the podracer. He had already cleaned the cuts that Kagome had gotten, and was now cleaning Anakin's only cut. Kagome had gone back inside to help Shmi with something.

"Stay still, Ani. Let me clean this cut," said Qui-Gon.

Anakin stared at the sky and said, "There's so many! Do they all have a system of planets?"

"Most of them," said Qui-Gon, smiling a little.

"Has anyone been to 'em all?"

Qui-Gon chuckled a little, looked up at the sky, and said, "Not likely."

"I want to be the first one to see 'em all!" said Anakin.

"Ani! Bedtime!" Shmi called from inside the house.

"Ow!" said Anakin as Qui-Gon wiped some of the blood off of his arm.

"There, good as new."

"Ani! I'm not gonna tell you again!" called Shmi again.

"What are you doing?" asked Anakin as Qui-Gon scraped some of his blood onto a com-link chip.

"Checking your blood for infections," explained Qui-Gon.

"Are you going to check 'Gome's blood, too? You wiped some of her blood off," said Anakin.

"Yep. Now, go on. You have a big day tomorrow. Sleep well, Ani," said Qui-Gon.

Anakin went inside, and Qui-Gon took this chance to contact Obi-Wan on his com-link.

"Obi-Wan," he said quietly into the little device.

"Yes, Master?" asked Obi-Wan.

"I need an analysis of these blood samples I'm sending you."

"Hold on," said Obi-Wan, as he turned on the machines near him.

"I need a midi-chlorian count," said Qui-Gon, as he sent both samples he had collected to his Padawan learner.

"The first reading's off the chart…! Over twenty thousand! Even Master Yoda doesn't have a midi-chlorian count that high!" said Obi-Wan.

"No Jedi has. And the second one?" asked Qui-Gon.

There was a pause, and Obi-Wan's voice was heard once more through the com-link.

"Master, are you sure there isn't something wrong with the transmission? The midi-chlorian count on this one is nearly as high as the first one! What do these high midi-chlorian counts mean?" asked Obi-Wan in awe.

"I don't know," said Qui-Gon, and turned to see Shmi watching him through the door.

Anakin's mother didn't say anything, and turned to go back into the kitchen.

––Iccccccccccccco

A lone ship approached Tatooine. It was a small, one-man cruiser. Like the Queen's Nubian vessel, it landed on the outskirts of Mos Espa. The door to the ship opened and a hooded figure strode out, though his red and black face could still be seen in the cool light of the stars.

The Zabrak male took out a pair of binoculars and scanned the horizon towards the visible settlements. He pushed a couple buttons on a device at his side, and shortly after, several probe droids came floating out of his ship. They flew off towards Mos Espa, and the Zabrak watched silently.

––Iccccccccccccco

Kagome lay in bed, having a strange dream. She was currently bunked in Anakin's room. Her bed was opposite of Anakin's, and she was tossing fitfully in it, a cold sweat beaded out on her forehead.

_She was walking down a long white corridor. For some reason, she was moving quite fast, almost as if something were urgent. To her left, Kagome kept passing large windows that led to the vacuum of space outside. _

Space!_ Kagome realized she was looking at what she and Anakin had always longed to see. It was exactly as she had always dreamed it to be, no, it was even better. Clusters of stars and whole constellations could be seen from the windows. Glowing nebulae shone like treasure troves of jewels in the ink-black sky. Yet the sight of space seemed very familiar to Kagome's eyes. She must have seen it at some point; after all, she had crash-landed on Tatooine in an escape pod._

_Wanting badly to stop and drink in the sight, Kagome found that she was unable to. Because of this, she realized that someone was holding her by the hand. She looked to her right and saw that an enormous person was leading her, their large hand encasing her own. No, the person wasn't huge; she had shrunk! She had de-aged by about five or six years, judging from her height._

_Kagome studied the person that was leading her. It was a woman, and she was wearing what Kagome automatically recognized as a juunihitoe (4), though she didn't know how she knew about it. She was amazed that the woman was walking as fast as she was in the outfit. _

_Looking up at the woman's face, Kagome found that she could not see her face clearly. Everything was blurred, as if she needed her sight fixed. She barely made out that the woman's eyes were the same shade of blue as her own. _

"_Hayaku (hurry), Kagome!" said the woman urgently; she had a soft voice._

_Suddenly, a man dressed in a dark blue uniform appeared from an adjoining hallway. Again, Kagome couldn't distinguish the facial features of this new person. The woman holding Kagome's hand abruptly stopped, so the girl was forced to wait._

"_Kun-ruun-sama (suffix given to nobility or a very polite term)! They have overtaken the bridge!" said the man, who actually spoke in Kagome's native tongue._

_Kagome was surprised to hear someone except herself speak her language, and then remembered the woman had spoken it, too._

"_It is too late for all of us to escape!" continued the man._

"_What about Kagome? Can we guarantee her safety?" asked the woman, speaking as if Kagome wasn't there._

"_We might be able to allow her to escape," said the man, who then began leading the woman and Kagome down a multitude of hallways. _

_When they finally reached a row of small doors, the sound of shouting and footsteps was heard nearby._

"_There's no time left! She has to go, now!" hissed the man, opening up one of the doors._

_Kagome found herself being shoved suddenly into one of the pods. She felt the woman pressing something small and round into the palm of her hand. As she fell into the pod, there was the sound of weapons going off and screaming, and then she knew no more as the door was closed after her._

Kagome woke to find Anakin standing over her. He must have pulled her from her bed.

"I was wondering if you had died or something. You didn't even wake up when I shoved you to the floor!" he said, frowning down at her.

"You _pushed_ me onto the floor?" asked Kagome, an eyebrow twitching angrily.

Anakin didn't say anything, so Kagome stood up and swatted him with her pillow.

"C'mon, let's get ready," said Kagome, who had entirely forgotten her dream.

_**End**_

––Iccccccccccccco

**Author's Notes**

(1) Isn't it boring being a droid?

(2) She sure does give him a lot of dirty looks, doesn't she?

(3) Is it even possible for him to be quiet? ^o^ - LOL

(4) A juunihitoe is a royal Japanese kimono that was commonly worn during the Heian Era by court ladies. It consists of _twelve_ layers of clothing, and during the summer, the layers are reduced to five.

––Iccccccccccccco

You like? Too bad Kagome forgot what she had dreamed about. I hate it when I have a really good dream and then I wake up and forget about it! ***clears throat* **Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!


	4. Chapter IV: The Boonta Eve Classic

'Guardians of Peace' rises from the ashes! LOL! I've stopped working on my first story temporarily in order to update this one a bit. Gotta keep my readers happy!

By the way, if I don't have a Huttese phrase translated, that's because I couldn't find its translation anywhere. Just to let you know.

I also changed some things in the previous chapters, such as the name of the woman in Kagome's dream. I changed it to 'Kun-ruun', which is usually written as 'Kun-loon'. However, _since the Japanese don't use the letter L or the sound_ ***hint hint, people!***, I changed it to its correct form. It bugs the hell out of me when people use 'L' for Japanese words and names, because the Japanese don't use it! They substitute it with an 'R'! Okay, that's my 'L' rant. Just had to get it out of my system.

Disclaimer: ***shifts eyes nervously*** I do not own InuYasha or Star Wars, and I'm saying this because I was blackmailed by Takahashi-san's lawyer.

Takahashi's Lawyer: And because you told them, I'm also going to take away all privileges.

***deadly silence***

Kuroi: ***takes out a bazooka and straps on a green soldier's helmet*** THIS MEANS WAR, YOU FRICKIN' LAW NAZI!

"speaking"

'_thinking_'

"**Huttese**"

**Chapter IV: The Boonta Eve Classic**

––Iccccccccccccco

"_The Boonta is far more dangerous than any amateur race I've flown!_"

~ Ben Quadinaros (Fellow Podracer in Boonta Eve Classic)

––Iccccccccccccco

The main hangar at Mos Espa's Raceway was alive with the sound of people and machinery. Sparks flew as finishing touches were put on the pods that had already been brought in. Qui-Gon was walking beside a hovering Watto, and a curious Jar Jar was following behind as he looked around the hangar. They had gone ahead of the others, who had hadn't arrived yet.

"…I wanna see your spaceship the moment the race is over!" said Watto, speaking as if he were telling a child not to stay out after dark.

"Patience, my blue friend. You'll have your winnings before the suns set, and we'll be far away from here," consoled Qui-Gon.

"Not if your ship belongs to me, I think! I warn you, _no_ funny business," laughed Watto.

"You don't think Anakin will win?" asked Qui-Gon, his fists resting on his hips.

"Don't get me wrong, no. I have great faith in the boy. He's a credit to your race, but, uh, Sebulba there is going to win, I think," said Watto, gesturing at the Dug that sat only a couple meters away.

Sebulba was getting a massage from twin female Twi'lek yobana slaves he owned.

"Oh no!" said Jar Jar when he spotted the Dug, his eyes bulging.

"**Una cheechee toowa**," praised Sebulba to the Twi'lek girl working on his feet.

"Why do you think that?" Qui-Gon asked Watto.

"He _always_ wins! I'm betting heavily on Sebulba!" Watto said, laughing.

Qui-Gon looked pensive for a moment.

"I'll take that bet," he announced.

Watto suddenly stopped laughing and said, "What?"

"I wager my new racing pod against…say, the boy, the girl, and the boy's mother," said Qui-Gon.

"No pod is worth_ three_ slaves, not even _two_! Not by a long shot!" said Watto angrily.

"Though…" he continued, somewhat hesitantly, "you could wager against Sebulba here. He's wanted the girl for several years now."

Qui-Gon glanced at Sebulba, who was still getting a nice massage from the Twi'lek girls. If Watto was _that_ willing to let the girl go…

"Let's do that, then. If the boy wins, I get the girl. If Sebulba wins, _he_ gets the girl," said Qui-Gon, knowing he was taking a great risk.

Watto looked delighted and turned to Sebulba.

"Sebulba!" he called.

The Dug looked up at Watto with his little eyes and said, "**Have you finally made up your mind to sell me the girl?**"

"**In a way, yes. This ootmian here wants to bet with you for her,**" said Watto, gesturing at Qui-Gon.

Sebulba glanced at Qui-Gon, and then looked back at Watto.

"**What are the terms?**" he asked.

"**If you win, you get the girl. And if the boy wins, the ootmian gets her,**" said Watto, smirking.

Sebulba cracked up. What a delicious deal!

When he had recovered, he grinned nastily and said, "**Deal.**"

The Dug slapped Watto's palm to seal their agreement. Laughing unpleasantly, Watto turned and fluttered back to Qui-Gon.

"There you have it, then. Sebulba has agreed to your terms!"

Satisfied, Qui-Gon nodded.

"Now, the boy and his mother…" began Qui-Gon, incurring Watto's wrath once more.

"I already told you! One pod is not worth two slaves!"

"The boy, then," said Qui-Gon.

"Well…" said Watto, looking really indecisive, "we'll let Fate decide, huh? I just happen to have a Chance cube here."

The Toydarian pulled out a small cube that was colored with five red sides and one blue one. He rolled it between two fingers.

"Blue, it's the boy. Red…his mother," said Watto, smiling slyly.

Qui-Gon nodded slightly, and Watto rolled the Chance cube onto the floor. As it rolled, Qui-Gon made a gesture with his hand to make the cube land on its blue side. Watto looked pissed, Jar Jar grinned uneasily, and Qui-Gon put up his hands to show he didn't do anything.

"You won this small toss, outlander, but you won't win the race, so it makes little difference!" growled Watto nastily.

With that, the blue Toydarian flew off towards the large entrance of the hangar. Qui-Gon watched him go coldly.

As Watto made his way to the exit, he passed two eopies. One was being ridden by Anakin and Padmé, and the other was being ridden by Shmi and Kitster. Kagome was walking beside C-3PO and R2-D2, since she had said she needed to stretch her legs.

The eopies sat down so that their riders could get off, and Watto flew up beside the one that Anakin was riding.

"**Bonapa keesa. ****Tolpa da bunky na booty cha naga o wanna meete chobodda **(better stop your friend's betting or I'll end up owning him, too)," said Watto, laughing as he left.

Anakin watched his owner's retreating back with a dirty look.

"What'd he mean by that?" asked Anakin when Qui-Gon approached.

"I'll tell you later. Good morning," said Qui-Gon as he helped Shmi off her eopie.

Meanwhile, R2 was telling 3PO about his recent adventures in space.

"Oh, my! Space travel sounds rather perilous," exclaimed the protocol droid.

R2 let out a long series of beeps.

"I can assure you that they will never get me onto one of those dreadful starships!" said C-3PO, and Kagome had to snicker at his tone.

"This is _so_ wizard, Ani. I'm sure you'll do it this time!" Kitster was telling Anakin.

Overhearing them, Padmé asked, "Do what?"

"Finish the race, of course," said Kitster, talking to her as if she were an imbecile.

Kagome hit him on the back of the head and told him to be nice.

"You've never won a race?" asked Padmé disbelievingly.

"Well…not exactly," said Anakin hesitantly.

"Not even _finished_?"

"Kitster's right. I will this time," said Anakin, putting an arm around the shoulders of his grinning and nodding friend.

"Of course you will," said Qui-Gon as he came up behind the pair.

He gave Padmé a look, and Kagome frowned. She glanced behind her when she felt eyes on her back, and found, to her disgust, Sebulba leering hungrily at her. Kagome shuddered and turned away, but she couldn't get rid of a familiar prickling, nagging feeling in the back of her mind. She always got that feeling when something unpleasant had just transpired or was about to.

––Iccccccccccccco

One of the Zabrak's probe droids floated along down the sunny streets of Mos Espa. Every so often, it would pause and look around. When it didn't find what it was looking for, it would continue on. Unfortunately for it, it wouldn't find the Queen of Naboo anywhere near its current location.

––Iccccccccccccco

The Mos Espa Raceway began at a huge amphitheater that was in the shape of half a circle. People cheered in the stands, and every seat seemed to be filled. Vendors were giving out food for the onlookers to eat. The announcer, who happened to have two heads and was called Fodesinbeed Annodue, was speaking.

The green head, which was called Fode, said, "**Toogi **(welcome)**! Toogi! ****Tung me cha da Boonta du Baunta magia. Toong mee cha kulkah du Boonta magi **(we have perfect weather today for the Boonta Classic)**... Tum tah zoozal Podracers!**"

The red head, named Beed, then spoke, "That's absolutely right. And a _big_ turnout here, from _all_ corners of the Outer Rim territories. I see the contestants are making their way out onto the starting grid."

Down on the arena, all of the pods were being dragged into place by various animals native to Tatooine. Some of the podracers had crewmembers, mostly small droids, checking and making finishing touches to the pods.

"**La yma beestoo **(yes, there they are)**!**" said Fode.

As Anakin and his entourage made its way to its starting place, Beed said, "I see Ben Quadinaros of the Tund System!"

An oval-shaped being with yellowish skin, a Toong, waved at the audience.

"…**eh Gasgano doowa newpa Ord Petrovia** (and Gasgano of the new Ord Petrovia)!" continued Fode.

"Two-time winner Boles Roor…" said Beed.

"**Poo tula moosta, woe grane champion Sebulba du Pixelito **(on the front line, the reigning champion, Sebulba from Pixelito)**!**" said Fode.

A huge roar rose up from the spectators as Sebulba jumped up onto his pod and waved at the audience. He blew kisses at them, causing several to jump up and ululate in response.

"And in the front row, nearside pole position, Mawhonic!" announced Beed, and Mawtonic bowed to the spectators.

"A hearty hello to Clegg Holdfast and his Voltec KT9 Wasp!" said Beed, and Clegg Holdfast also gave a bow.

"And, back again, it's the mighty Dud Bolt, with that incredible machine, the Vulptereen 327."

"And hoping for a big win today," continued Beed, "Ody Mandrell, with his record-setting pit droid team."

Ody Mandrell gave a wave, and his pit droids began trying to hit and throw rocks at each other.

"And a late entry, young Anakin Skywalker, a local boy," finished Beed, and Anakin waved to the audience.

A couple minutes later, Beed said, "I see the flags are moving out onto the track."

Everyone turned towards the line of flag carriers proceeding across the track. Each flag represented the nationality and planet of each podracer. 3P0 was making his wobbly way in the line, carrying Anakin's flag.

Shmi, in the meantime, went over and knelt in front of her son. She clasped his arms in a firm grip.

"Be safe," she said, looking at Anakin worriedly.

"I will, Mom. I promise," said Anakin.

Shmi gave him a small smile before getting up and leaving.

Kagome ran up and said, "Hey, Ani!"

"Yeah?" said Anakin, heading over to another section of his pod.

"Hmph. Be that way, then. I was going to wish you luck…" said Kagome, crossing her arms and scowling at him.

"Thanks," said Anakin, looking at her.

Kagome smiled and began mussing his hair up, saying, "Silly! I didn't wish you luck yet!"

"Wish me luck, then!" said Anakin, smoothing down his messy hair.

"Okay. Good luck, Ani!" said Kagome, who saluted him and then ran off to the others.

Anakin shook his head and began working on some of the cable hitches.

On the other side of Anakin's pod, Sebulba was hopping on his hands sneakily. He looked around to make sure no one was looking, and then pulled one of the pods parts to where it was no longer in its proper place.

"Uh-oh," said Sebulba slyly, and then hopped off to the front of the pod, snickering.

Along the way, he encountered Anakin, who was making finishing touches to his pod.

"**Bazda wahota, shag. Dobiella nok **(you won't walk away from this one, slave scum)," said Sebulba, fingering one of the little tendrils hanging from his muzzle.

"**Cha skrunee do pat, sleemo** (don't count on it, slimeball)**!**" said Anakin angrily, glaring at Sebulba.

"**Yoka to bantha poodoo** (you're bantha fodder)," said Sebulba, laughing as he hopped off.

At that moment, Qui-Gon walked up and said, "You all set, Ani?"

"Yep," said Anakin.

"Right," said Qui-Gon, and lifted up Anakin into the pod.

Anakin settled into the pod, shifting in order to get comfortable.

Qui-Gon leaned forward, Anakin's helmet in his hand, and said, "Remember, concentrate on the moment. Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts."

"I will," said Anakin confidently.

"May the Force be with you," said Qui-Gon, handing Anakin his helmet and patting the boy once on the head.

As Anakin began putting on his helmet, the sound of trumpets sounded.

Fode began saying, "**O grandio lust, amu intoe tah parena, Jabba du Hutt** (his honor, our glorious host, Jabba the Hutt, has entered the arena)**!**" and both him and Beed ululated.

The spectators began cheering as Jabba Desilijic Tiure (1) lugged his heavy body forward (2) onto the balcony, several other Hutts hanging back behind him. One of his followers, a Twi'lek male named Bib Fortuna, stood beside him.

"**Spasteelya du oonta Boonta **(welcome to the Boonta)**. Ya kun boska bolia **(begin the race)**!**" said Jabba in a deep booming voice, raising his stubby arms.

Energy binders shot between the engines of the pods as their pilots flipped them on. A whining sound filled the air, and dust began to rise. Everyone that had been helping out with the pods raced off to the sides of the arena in order to get out of the way.

"**Ya pawa culka doe rundee** (the power couplings are being activated)**!**" announced Fode.

"Hey, looks like they're clearing the grid," added Beed.

Qui-Gon and Jar Jar entered one of the viewing platforms that Shmi and Padmé, were waiting on.

"Is he nervous?" asked Shmi.

"He'll be fine," said Qui-Gon.

Padmé turned towards Qui-Gon and said, "You Jedi are far too reckless. The queen is not–"

Qui-Gon folded his hands behind his back and leaned down toward Padmé, saying, "The queen trusts my judgment, young handmaiden. You should, too."

He turned and began walking away from her, and Padmé followed, saying, "You assume too much."

Their viewing platform began to rise as Beed said, "Start your engines."

Anakin snapped his goggles into place and flipped his engine on with a switch. The engine's vents widened and then narrowed again, spewing some smoke. Panels in the cockpit lit up, and Anakin's engines flared. The young boy then adjusted his hands on the two driving bars beside him.

All of the racers flipped their switches on, their engines flaring. Soon, the whining of the engines and the revving became very loud.

"Oh, dissen gonna be messy. Me no watch'n!" said Jar Jar up in the viewing platform, covering his eyes.

Off to the sides, Kitster and Kagome stood with their eyes shaded from the dust, grinning like fools. Wald was also there, clenching his fists in excitement. R2 seemed to be somewhat excited as well.

Up on his balcony, Jabba bit the head off one of the frog-creatures that Jar Jar had tried to eat in the marketplace, and spat it into a nearby gong. At the sound of the gong, a green light in the center of the bridge over the beginning of the raceway turned on. A blue light turned on under the green one, indicating that it was the first lap.

The pods shot forward at the sight of the green light. Anakin's, however, moved forward and then promptly died. The other pods behind Anakin simply swerved around him and kept going.

"Oh, no! No!" exclaimed Anakin, and then began trying to get his engine going again.

Beed noticed that Anakin wasn't moving and laughed, saying, "Wait. Little Skywalker has stalled."

Many people in the audience laughed jeeringly, Watto and his 'buddies' among them. Kitster was holding the sides of his head, Kagome slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand, and Wald cursed.

One other pod wasn't moving, either.

"Well, it looks like Quadinaros is having trouble also," said Beed.

Quadinaros was looking around to see what was wrong, and then pounded his fists against one of the electronic panels in his cockpit, cursing angrily.

"Come on, Ani!" cheered Jar Jar from the viewing platform.

Anakin pushed another switch and then pushed forward with a shift stick in the cockpit. He pushed the driving bars on either side of him and his pod shot forward, leaving his friends that were on the ground cheering in his wake.

"And there goes Skywalker!" said Beed.

"Go, Ani, go!" cheered Jar Jar.

"He will be hard-pressed to catch up with the leaders," said Beed, while Shmi and the others watch Anakin's pod on the viewing screen in her hands.

––Iccccccccccccco

Sebulba, who was leading the pack along with Mawhonic, slammed his pod against the other's pod. Mawhonic nearly ran into one of the red sandstone rock features, and he cursed at Sebulba once he had righted himself. Sebulba tossed an insult at Mawhonic before he shoved at Mawhonic's pod again, this time succeeding in running the other into the wall. Mawhonic's pod exploded and shattered into several parts.

"Haaaa!" said Sebulba triumphantly.

At the rear, Anakin gave his podracer some more speed. He passed one, then two pods as he zoomed forward over a canyon. All of the pods were forced to go single-file as they approached another narrower canyon. One by one, all of the pods zoomed into the canyon's depths.

They came out of a wider part of the canyon, and made a turn into another small part of the canyon. Once they were out of there, they had to turn into order to follow the raceway back to the starting grid. The flat, dusty plains here were littered with magnificent stone arches and huge monoliths.

Anakin found himself in a tunnel with a thin skylight above him. This lead into cramped caves that were covered in stalagmites and stalactites. One of the pilots behind him gave a cry when he couldn't turn in time. The pilot's pod hit an obstacle, and Anakin had to give his pod some more speed in order to outrun the flames from the explosion out of the cave and into a large, dry river canal.

Several Sandpeople were sitting in the canal, talking amongst themselves. When they saw the pods coming, they began shooting at them. One of the shots clipped Anakin's pod, but didn't damage it very much.

––Iccccccccccccco

"Looks like a few Tusken Raiders are camped out on the sand dune turn," said Beed.

Kagome was leaning against the wall of the stadium, her arms crossed. Her face was sour, since she had no idea how Anakin was doing. She had to rely on Fode and Beed's announcements. She was really starting to wish that she had gone up into the viewing platform with Shmi, so that she could watch the hand-held viewing screen with the others.

––Iccccccccccccco

As the Tusken Raiders yelled after the retreating pods, the racers soon found themselves coming back up on the starting grid. Lap Two was about to start.

Ben Quadinaros was still pounding on his electronic panel, saying something that sounded like, "**Doowat macroon!**"

All of a sudden, all four engines of his pod exploded in different directions.

"Ooh, there goes Quadinaros's power coupling," announced Beed.

"**Cheespa wata!**" cursed Quadinaros as he came back down in his cockpit.

He flinched when several pods flew past him.

"**Chubba ni chees Sebulba** (here comes Sebulba in record time)!" cried Fode.

As Ody Mandrell came up, Fode said, "**Ody Mandrell coona wa wunda dango!**"

Mandrell pulled over so that his droids could check up on his pod. He chattered to them urgently, and they scurried off to begin working. As one of the droids spoke to another, the other one was sucked up into one of Mandrell's engines. The engine exploded, but the droid came out intact, laughing woozily to itself.

"Oh, no…" said Ody Mandrell, a hand sliding down his cheek.

Down on the ground, C-3P0 said, "Where is Master Anakin?"

R2 beeped.

"He's probably just a little slow. He did start late, after all," said Kagome, shading her eyes toward the end of the raceway.

"Look, here he comes," said Padmé up in the viewing platform, causing the others with her to look where she was looking.

The sound of a pod engine approached, and everyone saw Anakin and his pod racing toward them. Kagome was pleased to see that he had pods behind him.

"Looks like Skywalker is moving up in the field," said Beed.

Anakin zoomed past, causing Kitster to say, "Yay! Yippee!"

Kagome and Wald settled for hopping up and down excitedly.

––Iccccccccccccco

It wasn't long before he had started his second lap when Anakin ran into trouble. The pilot in the pod in front of him was trying to lock onto him with some kind of missile. But Anakin was moving too unpredictably for him to get a good shot. As the pilot in front of him dropped down in elevation, Anakin put on a burst of speed in order to pass over the pod and get in front of the other racer.

However, that put him right next to Gasgano, who took this opportunity to try and ram Anakin into the wall of one of the sandstone monoliths. He didn't succeed, and Anakin flipped over Gasgano onto the racer's other side.

Anakin dropped down into a canyon, and there were only two other pods in front of him that he could see. Again, they ran through the canyon, coming out onto the flats with the arches.

Sebulba, seeing the pod right behind him, grabbed a tool out of his cockpit and threw it backward. The tool caught into one of the engines of the pod behind him, resulting in the engine exploding. The pilot of the damaged pod, Terter, let out a growl of frustration as his pod fragmented.

Anakin, who was behind Terter, had to dodge debris and shrapnel. This resulted in his cockpit being separated from one of his engines.

––Iccccccccccccco

"Skywalker's spinning out of control!" said Beed.

Jar Jar gasped as he watched the viewing screen that Shmi was holding. The crowd, however, was roaring with excitement.

On the ground, Kagome gritted her teeth anxiously.

––Iccccccccccccco

Spinning around and around, Anakin watched the purple energy binder of his pod try to connect with the loose engine. It was flickering on and off. Passing other pods, Anakin focused his attention on the broken engine strap. Taking out a tool that had a magnetic end, he stuck it out to have the metal end of the engine strap connect with it. With a clang, the engine strap stuck to it, and Anakin reconnected it with his cockpit. The panel in his cockpit showed that he had reconnected the power, and the energy binder brightened as it was fully powered.

Anakin put on a boost of power as he entered another canyon, passing several other racers. He again entered the tunnel with the skylight, and came out of the caves again with a flourish. Up on the ridge, one of the Tusken Raiders shot at him, clipping him harmlessly once more. However, Gasgano was hit in the engine, and one of them exploded.

––Iccccccccccccco

"Oh, I don't care what universe you're from. That's got to hurt!" said Beed.

Everyone watched anxiously as Anakin came out of the river canal, closely following Sebulba.

"At the start of the final lap, Sebulba's in the lead, followed closely by Skywalker!" yelled Beed, working the crowd into a frenzy.

"Go, Ani!" shouted Kitster, pumping his hand into the air with excitement.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" said Kagome, hopping up and down at each 'yes'.

––Iccccccccccccco

Anakin continued to follow Sebulba closely in his smaller pod, cutting the turns in the canyon perfectly. They came out onto another flat, whereupon they entered the narrower canyon for the third time.

Putting on a burst of speed, Anakin attempted to pass Sebulba, despite the lack of room. Angered, Sebulba bumped his pod into Anakin's with a curse. That pushed Anakin over the race line, causing him to hit the little flags on the side. Anakin grimaced at the 'thunk thunk thunk' the flags made, but had no time to get out as Sebulba bumped him again.

––Iccccccccccccco

"Skywalker's been forced onto the service ramp!" said Beed.

The crowd gasped and yelled with excitement.

Angry, Kagome closed her eyes; how could Anakin let that stupid Dug push him around like that?

Then she realized that she was being a hypocrite. Didn't she let Sebulba scare her into nervous anxiety every time she saw him?

But Ani was different; Ani wasn't a coward like she was.

––Iccccccccccccco

As Anakin was flew up onto the service ramp, the few people that were gathered there behind the blockade dove out of the way as the blockage shattered.

"Whoa-oa!" said Sebulba, watching Anakin's pod race up high above the canyon.

Flicking several switches, Anakin began to fall back towards the ground.

Pulling back on his driving bars, Anakin drifted above and forward over Sebulba. Sebulba gave an exclamation of surprise when he saw the boy above him. Anakin pushed his driving bars forward, pushing him ahead of Sebulba as he settled back down into the canyon.

––Iccccccccccccco

"It's Skywalker!" cried Beed, pumping his fist into the air.

Yells of 'Sebulba!' were starting up around the stadium by spectators that didn't like the fact that a young boy was showing up the Dug.

"Amazing!" continued Beed, "A quick control thrust, and he's back on course!"

Kagome sighed with relief,

Trying to see what was happening on the viewing screen, Jar Jar said, "Did he crash-ed? (3)"

––Iccccccccccccco

Coming out of the canyon, Sebulba followed Anakin closely. His pod even hit the ground as they changed elevation, capturing the attention of a couple of Jawa passersby.

"**Wah hota!**" yelled Sebulba, which probably meant that he wanted something unpleasant to happen to Anakin.

He began to crowd Anakin, his engines so close to Anakin's cockpit that the boy could have reached out and touched one. Anakin continued to speed along under the arches, unaware that a vital part of his pod was about to break off, courtesy of Sebulba.

Anakin's consoles in his cockpit began beeping and showing a loss of power. Then the vital component of his pod popped right off, never to be seen again. Anakin tried to see what had happened, looking around the side at his engine, which had begun smoking. Behind him, Sebulba laughed unpleasantly.

As Anakin began to lose speed, his engine caught on fire. Sebulba passed him quickly.

––Iccccccccccccco

"Skywalker's in trouble! Sebulba takes the lead!" shouted Beed.

A huge cry rose up from the audience.

Kagome gave a growl of annoyance; unlike most podracers, Anakin tended to play fair.

––Iccccccccccccco

A Huttese character on Anakin's console began flashing, and several others beeped. Anakin pulled a little lever, which closed a vent in his damaged engine. That caused the fire to go out.

Looking down, Anakin saw the blinking character go away and stop beeping. Clicking a button, he began transferring power from his good engine into his damaged one. He clicked several other buttons, and saw on his console that the power had been transferred.

Clicking on another button repeatedly, he tried to get his engine to ignite its thruster again. It did nothing but puff out small wisps of smoke. He kept clicking until the engine sputtered and then ignited again, giving him speed. On his console, it showed that he was good to go.

He put on a burst of speed, quickly catching up on Sebulba in the tunnel with the crack-like skylight. Quickly, he followed Sebulba into the caves.

––Iccccccccccccco

"He's catching Sebulba!" said Beed.

"**Inkabunga **(incredible)**!**" said Fode.

"Careful, Ani! Careful, Ani!" said Jar Jar, watching Anakin's pod on Shmi's viewing screen.

Kagome was wringing her hands anxiously, all the tension around her building up.

––Iccccccccccccco

Anakin was right on Sebulba's tail. Sebulba looked back behind him.

Shaking his head with irritation, he said, "Wha– **Chuba da noya!**"

Turning sideways, he came out of the canyon and onto the final stretch. Anakin followed quickly.

Now that there was room, Anakin quickly began to pass Sebulba. Seeing what the boy was doing, Sebulba rammed his pod against Anakin's. He gave him another smaller ram, which caused Anakin to rebound against Sebulba's pod. A part of Anakin's pod that stuck out got caught on part of Sebulba's racing pod, and Anakin was unable to get loose.

Both of them tried to pull away, without success. All the while, Sebulba sent Anakin dirty looks, as if he thought the boy had done it on purpose.

––Iccccccccccccco

As Kagome, Kitster, and Wald watched the viewing screen of a couple of nearby men, Beed was busy announcing.

"That little human being is out of his mind!" said Beed.

"**Punda tah punda **(they're neck to neck)**!**" said Fode.

"They're side by side!" said Beed.

"**Bangu du bangu** (shoulder to shoulder)**!**" said Fode.

––Iccccccccccccco

Anakin and Sebulba pulled hard to get uncaught on their driving bars. Finally, the caught piece came loose with a spark and a hiss. Hearing it, Anakin pushed down on the stick lever in his cockpit, and his engines flared with new fire. He raced ahead to the finish line.

Sebulba, however, let out a cry when he saw what was coming up ahead of him. One of his engines detached altogether, and it hit a rock. The other engine came off, and Sebulba's cockpit skidded and landed against the sand.

Once the cockpit was still, Sebulba pounded his fist on the side and said, "**Poodoo!** (4)"

Anakin was smiling and waving as he came into the starting grid. The crowd was on its feet, yelling and cheering. Everyone up in the viewing platform was smiling at him.

"Yippee!" yelled Wald.

"Yay!" shouted Kitster.

"**Ya eeka buta!** Whoo-hoo-hoo!" shouted Wald again.

"You kicked his butt, Ani!" yelled Kagome.

All three were dancing around and giving each other high fives.

R2 beeped with presumed happiness, and 3P0 said, "I can't believe it."

"The crowds are going nuts!" said Beed, and both him and Fode began giving their own unique cheer of 'oh! ah!'.

Soon, everyone was shouting, "Ooh! Ah!"

Many people greeted Anakin as he started to get out of his pod, including his family and friends.

As a smiling Qui-Gon lifted Anakin out of the pod, Jar Jar cried, "Yay, Ani!"

Qui-Gon lifted Anakin onto his shoulder, and Anakin said, "Mom, I did it! Yeah!"

Watto and his gambling buddies were arguing amongst themselves.

Jabba, who had fallen asleep, had to be woken up by Bib Fortuna. Snorting and muttering in Huttese, he looked around and saw who had won with some interest.

"Ohhh," he grunted.

––Iccccccccccccco

"Good going, Ani!" said Jar Jar, putting Anakin down; he had picked the small boy up to congratulate him.

Everyone except Qui-Gon, who had gone off somewhere, was standing in the hangar bay, eager to congratulate their new hero.

Once Anakin was back down, Padmé knelt in front of him and hugged him, saying, "We owe you everything, Ani."

Padmé stood up, only to be replaced by Shmi, who kissed Anakin's smoke-stained face, much to his chagrin.

"It's so wonderful, Ani," said Shmi, smiling at her son. "You have brought hope to those that have none. I'm so very proud of you."

She kissed him again, and Kagome started laughing at the look on his face.

––Iccccccccccccco

Watto, who was still back in the stadium, handed some money to someone he owed.

"**Oy chuba no,**" sighed Watto, shooing the person off.

He sighed again, but turned when he heard Qui-Gon come up behind him.

"You!" he said, pointing at Qui-Gon accusingly as he flew over to the Jedi. "You swindled me! You knew the boy was going to win! You somehow knew it. I lost everything."

"Whenever you gamble, my friend, eventually you'll lose," said Qui-Gon sagely.

He walked away from Watto to look at the stadium and said, "Bring the parts to the main hangar. I'll come by your shop later on so that you can release the boy and the girl."

"You can't have either of them. Neither were very fair bets, and the one with the girl wasn't official," said Watto sullenly, averting his gaze like a guilty child.

Qui-Gon narrowed his eyes and turned toward Watto (5).

Walking over to the Toydarian, he said, "Would you like to discuss it with the Hutts? I'm sure they can settle this."

Watto drooped a little and said resignedly, "Fine… Take them."

Qui-Gon gave Watto a small bow and left, leaving the depressed Toydarian hovering in the air.

_**End**_

––Iccccccccccccco

**Author's Notes**

(1) This is Jabba's whole name

(2) The first time we saw this, my dad said, "Look, he can actually _move_ around!"

(3) Seriously, _how_ did Jar Jar become a senator? -_-; He's a good character and all, but did he grow some brains or something after the first movie?

(4) Equivalent of him saying, "Shit!"

(5) If you look behind Qui-Gon at this part, you can see Darth Maul's (SPOILER ALERT! LOL) probe floating past.

––Iccccccccccccco

Soooo, how was it? Sorry for not updating in forever, but I've been focusing most of my attention on my first story. Not much Kagome in this, but I'll put more of her in next time.

Ja ne! ^.^


	5. Chapter V: Arriving on Coruscant

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Star Wars. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a dangerously long and sharp needle in my eye. ***has fingers crossed behind back***

**Ages:**

Palpatine – 50

"speaking"

'_thinking_'

"**Huttese**"

**Chapter V: Arriving on Coruscant **

––Iccccccccccccco

"_That's the seat of _Galactic government!"

~ Exar Kun (Dark Lord of the Sith c. 3996 BBY - - 3964 years prior)

––Iccccccccccccco

Obi-Wan and Captain Panaka strode out of the queen's Nubian ship, passing Padmé and Jar Jar along the way.

"Hidoe!" said Jar Jar, which sounded like a corrupted form of 'hello'.

Several of the essential parts of the ship lay in parcels on the dusty ground, dragged there by a couple of eopies. Some of the officers that Panaka was in charge of were busy untying the parcels while one led away the extra eopie.

As Obi-Wan went up to his master – who was sitting atop one of the two eopies – Qui-Gon said, "Well, we have all the essential parts we need. I'm going back. Some unfinished business. I won't be long."

"Why do I sense we've picked up _another_ pathetic life-form?" said Obi-Wan in an amused tone.

"It's the boy who's responsible for getting us these parts. I'm bringing the girl, too," said Qui-Gon, taking something from one of Panaka's troops.

"Okay, the boy I understand. But why the girl?" asked Obi-Wan.

"She and the boy are practically siblings, almost inseparable. Besides having quite developed foresight, she's as cute as a bug," said Qui-Gon, smiling and winking at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan blinked and frowned at the wink, furrowing his brow. Did he miss something?

Seeing his Padawan's expression, Qui-Gon laughed and said, "Just get this hyperdrive generator installed, Obi-Wan."

"Yes, Master. That shouldn't take long," said Obi-Wan, still pondering over Qui-Gon's wink.

Smiling to himself, Qui-Gon used the reins of his eopie to turn it back towards Mos Espa, saying, "Come on! Hup!"

The eopie snorted and plodded along, leading the second eopie with a rope. All the way back to Mos Espa, he continued to smile. Sometimes, it was just fun to tease Obi-Wan.

––Iccccccccccccco

Panting and covered in dust, Kagome arrived in Watto's shop. Just because Anakin had won the Boonta Eve Classic didn't mean that she had to shirk her work. Whenever she didn't turn up on time, she was severely scolded by Watto.

The bell tinkled as she came through the door, alerting Watto to her presence. Instead of simply dismissing her arrival, he looked at her first with confusion and then irritation.

"**Kee chai chai cun kuta, chik** (what are you doing here, girl)**?**" asked Watto angrily.

Kagome blinked in bewilderment and said, "**I work here, Master Watto.**"

Watto looked at her and said, "**You work here–**", before bursting out into laughter.

As the Toydarian continued to laugh, Kagome stood rooted to her spot. Her face was very confused, and all she could do was stare and gape at her ex-owner.

Wiping his eyes and trying to regain his breath, Watto said, "He hasn't told you?"

"Who hasn't told me what?" asked Kagome, her eyes practically swirling in her confusion.

"That man, Jinn, of course!" spat Watto.

Kagome was entirely lost.

"Ah," said Watto, seeing Kagome's expression for the first time, "So he hasn't told you. Fine, I will… You and the boy belong to him now."

"I…what?" said Kagome, uncomprehending what he was saying.

"You and the boy are Jinn's slaves now! Both you and the boy are probably free by now!" said Watto.

"You're not my master anymore?" said Kagome, still trying to grasp her situation.

She had been Watto's slave as long as she could remember; it was the only life she had had, working for him in his junkyard. To not belong to him anymore was like a slap in the face.

"**Nobata **(no)**! **Haven't you heard a word I've said, **koochoo** (idiot)**?**" said Watto with anger.

"What about Shmi? What about my mother?" asked Kagome. "Did Qui-Gon-san manage to free her, as well?"

"You and the boy were separate bets. It was either him or Shmi, and Jinn won the boy. You, however, were won by a bet with Sebulba," said Watto, grinning nastily.

"Sebulba!" said Kagome, reeling back in shock.

"Sebulba and your friend Jinn made a bet that if the boy won, you would go to Jinn," said Watto.

"And if Ani lost, I would go to Sebulba," Kagome finished for him, looking down at her feet.

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence, except for the 'pat pat pat' of Watto's wings flapping in the air.

"I guess…" began Kagome hesitantly, "I'll be going then…Watto-san."

She turned to go back out the door when Watto called her back.

"**Wait, chik!**" he said.

Kagome turned around with surprise, only to see Watto fly over to a drawer and begin rummaging through it. Finally, he let out a satisfied sigh and pulled out a small round object.

"**Take it**," he said, and threw it under-handed at her.

Catching the object neatly in her hand, Kagome opened her hand up to find herself staring at a small, round jewel the size of a shooter marble, pinkish-purple in color and see-through.

"What is this?" asked Kagome, looking back at Watto with confusion.

"It was found with you when you crashed here. I never got around to selling it, so you take it. I don't want it," said Watto, folding his thin arms and looking away stubbornly.

"Thank you, Watto-san," said Kagome, giving him a small smile.

Watto grunted, but continued to not look at her.

Finding the situation somewhat awkward, Kagome bowed low – clasping the jewel in both hands – and said, "**Me jewz ku, Watto **(goodbye, Watto)**. Goopta mo bossa** (may your mind not evaporate) (1)**!**"

Kagome turned and went out the door, the bell tinkling overhead. As she tucked the round jewel securely into a pocket and went out into the street, she could have sworn that she heard Watto laughing once more.

––Iccccccccccccco

Kagome gazed around at the items on sale at the marketplace as she passed through it, wondering what was going to happen to her and Anakin.

Would Qui-Gon-san take her and Ani onto his big fancy spaceship? A thrill of excitement went through Kagome's body at the thought of going into space. Maybe then Anakin could become a Jedi and fulfill his life-long dream of seeing the stars.

Or would Qui-Gon simply leave them here to fend for themselves? It wasn't unknown for freed slaves to be made slaves again once they moved to another part of Tatooine. Tatooine was a planet run by crime lords, so all that was cared about was money and profit. Nobody, except Shmi, would care if she and Anakin were made slaves once more.

"**Koona t'chuta, shag** (going somewhere, slave)**?**" asked a disgustingly familiar voice from behind her.

Kagome froze; she had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't been on the lookout for Sebulba. The Dug wasn't going to play fair, as usual.

Turning around and facing the Dug, Kagome straightened up to her full height and put her shoulders back. She scowled at Sebulba and his little beady eyes, sick of being afraid of a cheater.

"**Hi chuba de naga, Sebulba** (what do you want, Sebulba)**?**" asked Kagome coldly.

"**You think that you have gotten off scot-free, haven't you, little shag? But nobody could do anything if I took you to another planet, never to be seen on Tatooine again, now would they? After all, Tatooine isn't the only planet that has podraces**," said Sebulba sinisterly, hopping closer on his hands toward Kagome.

Several people were watching what the Dug and Kagome would do. They knew that in the past Kagome had been afraid of Sebulba, but now that seemed to have changed.

Sucking of her tongue for more saliva, Kagome spat on the dirt in front of the Dug.

"**Schutta, kung** (shut it, scum)," she sneered, and gave him an offending hand gesture.

Enraged, Sebulba gave a bleating yell and leapt at Kagome, preparing to give her a solid kick with his feet. What Kagome did next was mostly out of instinct.

She flung out her hand, feeling a strange openness and connection in her mind. She was just as shocked as everyone else when some invisible force sent Sebulba flying into a nearby stall, resulting in a din of noise as the stall shattered beneath the Dug's body.

Like any child afraid of getting into trouble, Kagome took off running for the little hovel she called home. When Sebulba finally managed to pick himself out of the rubble – along with a lot of yelling to and from the stall keeper – Kagome had already gone.

––Iccccccccccccco

Panting and wild-eyed, Kagome arrived at the front of her home, surprised to see that the door was already open. She looked around to see if anyone was chasing her, expecting to see Sebulba come bounding up, leading a mob. Her heart was pounding as she dashed inside.

She pushed the button on the console just inside the door, and slammed her back against the door once it had slid shut, her arms splayed out on either side of her. Her breath came in gasps, and her eyes were wide.

Kagome saw Qui-Gon poke his head into the little alcove that lead from the door into the rest of the house, followed by Anakin's.

"Hey, 'Gome! Guess what! We're free! We're not slaves anymore!" said Anakin, rushing up to Kagome once he had spotted her; Kagome noticed that his eyes were a little teary.

Kagome didn't say anything, but continued to pant.

Anakin took in her pale, scared face and said, "Hey, what's the matter?"

"I did something bad," said Kagome fearfully, her heart trying to beat its way out of her ribcage.

Her adopted brother took her by the arm and led her into the adjoining room, where Shmi was sitting at the desk covered in droid and machine parts. Qui-Gon was standing nearby, watching silently.

When Shmi saw Kagome, she stood and rushed over to the girl, saying, "Did something happen, Kagome? You're as white as the snow on Hoth!"

Kagome burst into tears and began wailing, "He's gonna come get me and take me away! He's gonna kill me because of what I did!"

Anakin looked perturbed that his sister was crying, but didn't really know what to do; she didn't cry very often, after all.

Shmi knelt in front of Kagome and grasped her by the arms, saying, "Who's going to get you? Watto?"

"No! Sebulba!" cried Kagome, tears falling in miniature waterfalls down her face. "I did something bad, and he's gonna kill me!"

"What did you do?" asked Shmi calmly, trying to wipe away Kagome's tears.

"I didn't mean to do it! It was an accident!" said Kagome, blinking through her tears.

"What was an accident, Kagome?" asked Shmi, patiently trying to extract information from the distraught girl.

"He-he was gonna attack me, and I just reacted! He just _flew_ into a stall like a wild bantha had knocked into him! It was like one of those times when I get angry, and things start flying in the air! Except I wasn't angry!" blubbered Kagome quickly through her tears.

Qui-Gon, who had been silent up until now, found all this information interesting. The girl had a decent grasp on the Force – her using telekinesis was proof – despite appearing to be untrained. A trip to Coruscant would determine whether she had had any training or not.

"What if he shows up here with the stall keeper and everyone else in the marketplace?" wailed Kagome, her tears starting again.

"What about a stall keeper?" asked a confused Anakin.

"I made Sebulba fly into a stall in the marketplace, Ani! The stall keeper might make me work to pay off the damage that I caused!" said Kagome, wiping her face.

"Wow! You beat up Sebulba? That's awesome!" said Anakin with awe.

"It is _not_! I might have hurt him!" said Kagome, looking at Anakin angrily with her red, watery eyes.

"You're feeling sorry for him?" asked Anakin incredulously. "Sebulba had it coming, 'Gome!"

"I didn't _want_ to hurt him, Ani! Even if he deserved it!" said Kagome, scowling at her little brother.

"See?" said Anakin triumphantly, "You agree with me."

"Hmph," said Kagome, looking away grumpily.

"I highly doubt that Sebulba will bother you again, Kagome," said Qui-Gon. "Now, do you want to come with Anakin and me, to become a Jedi?"

"A Jedi?" asked Kagome, her teary eyes widening. "Really?"

"Mm-hm," said Qui-Gon, nodding. "But I have to warn you; it is a hard life. You will have to give up everything you have here in order to come to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. And you will have to abandon the luxuries and comforts of regular people in order to undergo the rigorous training expected of all learners of the Jedi way."

"I want to go! I want to become a Jedi!" said Kagome with determination.

Then she glanced at Shmi, and her eager face fell.

"But what about kaa-san? Watto said that she wasn't freed! Who will take care of her if Ani and I leave?" asked Kagome, turning her worried face toward Qui-Gon.

Shmi laughed and said, "I think I can take care of myself, Kagome. Like I told Anakin just now, this path has been placed before you. You have a future ahead of you, and you won't find it here."

Kagome nodded, her face still tear-streaked. She looked so sad that Shmi gave her a tight hug.

"**Uma ji muna** (I love you)," whispered Kagome, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Oh, I love you too, Kagome," said Shmi sadly, and let go of her adopted daughter.

"Now, you both should hurry," she said, giving her two children a small smile.

Anakin and Kagome both turned reluctantly away from Shmi and Qui-Gon and ran into the room that they shared.

Shmi got up and looked at Qui-Gon, saying, "Thank you."

"I'll watch after them. You have my word," said Qui-Gon, walking over to her.

Putting his hand on her shoulder, he said, "Will you be all right?"

Shmi looked over her shoulder at him and said, "Yeah," before watching for Anakin and Kagome to reemerge from their room.

––Iccccccccccccco

As Kagome and Anakin rushed around their room, Anakin switched on the motionless C-3P0.

There was a whine and the protocol droid woke, saying, "Oh! Oh, my… Oh! Hello, Master Anakin, Miss Kagome."

"Well, 3P0, we've been freed, and we're going away in a starship," said Anakin, packing away some belongings.

"Master Anakin, you are my maker and I wish you well. However, I should prefer it if I were a little more…completed," said 3P0.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to finish you, 3P0, give you coverings and all. I'm gonna miss working on you. You've been a _great_ pal," said Anakin sarcastically.

"Ani! That's mean! He can't help the way _you_ programmed him!" said Kagome, who was waiting for Anakin to finish packing; she didn't have as many belongings as he did.

Ignoring her, Anakin said, "I'll make sure Mom doesn't sell you or anything."

"Sell me?" said a shocked 3P0.

"Bye," said Anakin, waving and leaving the room.

"Goodbye, 3P0!" said Kagome cheerfully. "I hope someone decides to finish you!"

"Unlike Ani," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth as she turned and followed Anakin out the door.

"Oh, my," said 3P0, standing alone in the room.

––Iccccccccccccco

Anakin and Kagome, each carrying a backpack on their shoulders, followed Qui-Gon down the street away from the hovel that they had shared for six years. Shmi stood out in the street and watched them go.

The younger boy stopped and looked back. Qui-Gon and Kagome noticed and waited for Anakin as he turned around and ran back to Shmi, who knelt down to receive him. Anakin gave Shmi a hug and Shmi kissed him on the cheek.

"I can't do it, Mom. I just can't do it," said Anakin tearfully, lowering his pack.

"Ani," said Shmi, looking at him like she was saying 'you have to be a big boy now'.

"Will I ever see you again?" asked Anakin after a moment.

"What does your heart tell you?" asked Shmi.

"I hope so… Yes… I guess," said Anakin, giving his mother a small, unsure smile.

"Then we will see each other again," said Shmi, giving him a smile in return.

Anakin was silent for a moment, and then said, "I _will_ come back and free you, Mom. I promise."

Shmi gave him a smile and stroked the side of his face.

She looked down and then back up at him, saying, with a serious face, "Now, be brave and don't look back. Don't look back."

Shmi stood and turned her son around before pushing him forward gently. Anakin did as he was told, leaving Shmi to stand hugging her arms with her hands. Qui-Gon turned around and continued walking as soon as Anakin had caught up with him again.

Kagome, however, paused and looked back one last time, mouthed 'goodbye' to her adopted mother, and never looked back again.

––Iccccccccccccco

The black probe droid floated up to the Zabrak on the plateau, ready to report its news. As soon as it reached the Zabrak, it spoke in a strange language of its own and then zoomed around its master towards the Zabrak's speeder bike.

The Zabrak turned and followed it, got on the bike, and drove it off the plateau. The probe droid silently watched its master go zipping over the ground, heading towards his destination.

––Iccccccccccccco

"Geez, he sure is in a hurry!" panted Kagome as she jogged ahead of Anakin.

Qui-Gon was running ahead of them, making sure that he was going fast enough to cover enough ground, but not fast enough to leave the two children behind. In front of the Jedi was the silver Nubian cruiser, ready to take off.

Kagome turned when she heard a faint noise from behind them, just when Anakin began saying, "Qui-Gon, sir, wai–!"

The young girl's eyes widened when she saw the speeder bike bearing down from behind them, about to run them over. Qui-Gon turned when he heard Anakin's voice.

"Get down, Ani!" said Kagome, jumping onto him and pushing him to the ground.

The speeder bike zoomed over them harmlessly, and its rider – a strange looking being with a red face covered in tattoos and wearing a black cloak – leapt off the bike. The stranger took out a red lightsaber and activated it, causing Qui-Gon to activate his own green lightsaber.

"Get up!" urged Kagome, pulling Anakin upwards by his elbow.

"Go!" shouted Qui-Gon. "Tell them to take off!"

Anakin and Kagome raced off towards the lowered ramp on the Nubian ship, sweating and panting in Tatooine's heat. As Qui-Gon parried blows with his attacker, the two children ran up the ramp.

"I'll wait here for Qui-Gon-san! You go and warn them!" said Kagome hurriedly, hanging by the entrance inside the ship.

Anakin nodded and ran into the depths of the ship.

Along the way, he encountered Padmé and Captain Panaka.

"Qui-Gon said to take off! Somebody's attacking him!" panted Anakin to the captain.

Panaka nodded with no questions asked, and all three of them headed towards the cockpit.

As soon as the door to the cockpit slid open, Anakin entered, followed by the other two. This caused the pilot of the ship, a man named Ric Olie, and Obi-Wan to look up from their seats.

"Qui-Gon's in trouble," stated Panaka urgently.

"Take off," said Obi-Wan, getting up and crouching beside Ric Olie in order to see how his master was faring.

"Over there," he said after a moment, pointing out the window at Qui-Gon's figure. "Fly low."

Ric Olie pushed a few buttons and the engines roared to life. The silver vessel lifted from the ground, its legs retracting.

As the stranger in the cloak flipped over Qui-Gon, the Jedi Master sent him a final parry with his lightsaber. Then he watched the ship overhead before leaping high onto the ramp, which closed behind him as he walked up it. The ship shot off into the higher reaches of the atmosphere.

Down on the ground, the attacker deactivated his lightsaber, seeing that his quarry had gotten away.

––Iccccccccccccco

Panting, covered in dust and sweat, Qui-Gon lay down and retracted his own lightsaber. R2 and Kagome stood near him, Kagome hovering over him with anxiety.

Anakin and Obi-Wan entered the small hallway at a run.

"Are you alright?" asked Anakin worriedly.

Both he and the Padawan knelt next to Qui-Gon, anxious to see if he was all right.

"I think so," said Qui-Gon, sitting up and panting.

"What was it?" asked Obi-Wan.

"I'm not sure, but it was well-trained in the Jedi arts," stated Qui-Gon.

R2 beeped, and the Jedi Master glanced at the small droid.

"My guess is," continued Qui-Gon, "it was after the queen."

"What are we gonna do about it?" asked Anakin, and Obi-Wan glanced at him with a 'who the heck are you?' type of look.

Qui-Gon sighed and said, "We shall be patient."

Then he gestured toward Obi-Wan and said, "Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Anakin put out his hand, and Obi-Wan took his hand out of his Jedi robes to take the younger boy's.

"Hi," said Anakin, shaking hands with the young man.

Obi-Wan smiled and nodded.

"You're a Jedi, too? Pleased to meet you," said Anakin, smiling because he had met another Jedi.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan shared an amused glance.

"Gee, Ani, maybe you should become a poet instead," said Kagome sarcastically, leaning against R2's dome of a head.

Obi-Wan looked up in surprise. He had been so worried about his master that he had overlooked her – and R2, as well – altogether.

Kagome suddenly found herself becoming shy when she locked eyes with the handsome, young Padawan. He had such pretty eyes too, bluish-grey and gentle. She had never seen eyes quite like his, and was captivated by them (2).

"I-I'm Higurashi Kagome," said Kagome, her cheeks turning bright red, "but everyone calls me Kagome or 'Gome."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi. It's nice to meet you, Kagome," said Obi-Wan, leaning across Anakin somewhat and shaking her petite hand.

Kagome's face turned redder when he pronounced her name right; she had encountered many people that said 'kuh-go-may' instead of the correct pronunciation of 'kah-go-may'.

"N-nice to meet you," said Kagome, giving Obi-Wan a shy smile.

Obi-Wan gave her the same smile as he had Anakin, but was embarrassed that he hadn't noticed her when he had first entered the hall. So much for being an attentive Jedi.

As they helped Qui-Gon up, the Naboo Royal Starship took off from the desert planet of Tatooine. It left the dusty-red planet far behind it as it activated its newly-acquired hyperdrive.

––Iccccccccccccco

Padmé, once gain dressed in her orange and yellow robes, exited from the elevator and walked over to the message console in the main quarters in the ship. All the lights were either dimmed or off, indicating that mostly everyone was asleep.

Jar Jar was sitting sprawled out in a chair nearby, his strange feet propped up on the table. He snored in the way that Gungans snored, his head leaned back against the edge of the chair.

Pushing a button, Padmé watched the hologram that Sio Bibble had sent from Naboo.

"The death toll is catastrophic! We _must_ bow to their wishes. You _must_ contact me!" said Sio Bibble's holographic image urgently.

The message finished, and the hologram flickered out of existence. Padmé looked down, blinking at the dilemma facing her and the queen. She glanced over past Jar Jar, where Anakin sat huddled up.

"You all right?" asked Padmé worriedly.

"It's very cold," said Anakin quietly, shivering.

Padmé picked up a blanket from nearby, and walked over to Anakin with it in her hand. She passed Jar Jar, who didn't wake up from the 'tap tap' of her shoes on the metal floor.

"You come from a warm planet, Ani. A little too warm for my taste," said Padmé, sitting in front of the boy and tucking the blanket around him. "Space is cold."

Anakin looked up into her face and said, "You seem sad."

"The queen is worried," said Padmé softly. "Her people are suffering, dying. She must convince the Senate to intervene, or…"

She shook her head slightly and said, "I'm not sure what'll happen."

Looking down, Anakin withdrew his hand from underneath the red blanket and said, "I made this for you…"

He handed Padmé what he had in his hand and continued, "…so you'd remember me. I carved it out of a japor snippet. It'll bring you good fortune."

The young handmaiden examined the small. hourglass-shaped luck charm, carved as a traditional Tatooine sand symbol. It was made out of japor ivory wood, a wood native to Tatooine, and had a thong made of jerba (3) leather threaded through a hole in the top of the trinket. The whole charm shone as if polished.

"It's beautiful," said Padmé, looking up at the little boy.

She smiled at Anakin and said, "But I don't need this to remember you by."

Anakin looked down bashfully, and then back up at her.

"Many things will change when we reach the capital, Ani, but my caring for you will remain," said Padmé tenderly.

"I care for you, too, only I–" said Anakin, looking down.

"Miss your mother," Padmé finished for him.

Anakin looked up at her, tears in his eyes.

He sighed and said, "'Gome probably misses her as much as I do. She's been my big sister for as long as I can remember, so she's known Mom almost as long as I have."

"Speaking of Kagome, where is she?" said Padmé, looking around.

"She was playing hide 'n' seek with R2 awhile ago. I don't know where she is now," said Anakin sadly.

"She probably fell asleep somewhere while waiting for R2 to come find her," said Padmé with amusement, trying to cheer Anakin up.

She smiled when Anakin laughed.

––Iccccccccccccco

R2-D2 had no idea what to do (4). The female child that he had met on Tatooine, the one that he had been playing a game with for the past few hours, had fallen asleep. The girl's head was lying on her arms on a table, where several food packets lay. She had managed to find something to eat after playing her game with him. Then she had promptly fallen asleep after having a long conversation with him about the things that he had seen, though she didn't understand most of what he was saying.

Turning his head this way and that, he made low, whining noises to illustrate his predicament. Deciding to sit by the wall and keep watch, R2 silently rolled off to the side. He stayed that way for over half-an-hour, with no sound in the room except the sleeping girl's breathing.

He beeped cautiously when he suddenly heard the sound of approaching footsteps coming down the hallway towards the room. The droid turned his dome-like head sideways somewhat as the footsteps came closer, and watched to see who it was. He was surprised – as surprised as a droid can be – to see that it was Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi.

––Iccccccccccccco

Obi-Wan was on his way to check to see if the hyperdrive was still functioning correctly, a request from his master. He strode quickly through the halls of the Nubian ship, and decided to take a shortcut to the hyperdrive engine through one of the smaller rooms off to the side.

Upon entering the room, he was surprised to see the girl that he had met earlier with her head down on a table. Food packets lay in a neat pile near her, though there were crumbs scattered here and there. Nearby was the astro droid that had saved their hides from the Trade Federation blockade, apparently keeping watch.

Walking cautiously up to the girl, he peeked around her shoulder. Her face was turned towards him, and her eyes were closed. She was asleep, and was also shivering, probably due to her being dressed in the clothes found in warmer climates.

Obi-Wan, being a gentleman, looked around for something to cover her up with, but didn't see anything available that would do the job. Finally, he looked down at himself. Yes, his robe would do… He would be a little chilled, but he was a Jedi. He could endure hotter and colder climates; his training in the Jedi Temple and especially with Qui-Gon had taught him many manners over the years (5), including showing a lady – no matter how young – respect.

Slipping off his brown robe, Obi-Wan placed it over the girl's body. He gently tucked it in around her neck, trying not to wake her. He also made sure that her arms were covered, which were exposed to the cool air. Stepping away from the girl, he was satisfied when her shivering slowed and then stopped.

He nodded once and made to continue on his way to the hyperdrive engine. He paused once more when he saw the tip of one of her ears poking out of her black hair. It was pointed.

Obi-Wan had assumed that the girl was a Human, but her pointed ear said that she was not. So, a Near-Human, then. He had trained with Near-Humans and different species while in the Jedi Temple, and both boasted a large number of Force-sensitive children.

Shrugging mentally, Obi-Wan quietly made his way out of the room, his feet making barely any noise. R2 watched the Jedi leave, the light on his head changing from blue to red. His eyepiece wiggled around, and he beeped softly.

In R2's opinion, anything that wasn't artificial intelligence was very odd and made no sense.

––Iccccccccccccco

Kagome woke up slowly, becoming aware of the bright lights above her. Lifting her head up, she looked around blearily and tried to remember where she was. Then the events of the previous day – or was it the same day? – flooded back to her, and she closed her eyes before laying her head down again.

A wave of homesickness swept over her, and a lump formed in her throat. She missed Shmi, and even Watto with his constant yelling and nagging. She missed the constant heat of Tatooine, whose twin suns constantly burned her scalp because of her dark hair.

And it felt weird to be free. Being free didn't seem to be any different from being a slave, except that someone wasn't yelling at her to work harder, or looking down on her as if she were something a bantha had left in the street. Until Qui-Gon and his entourage had entered Watto's shop, she had been an object to everyone else except Anakin and Shmi.

A familiar beeping noise came from nearby, and Kagome opened her eyes. She raised her head to see R2 come rolling over towards her, the little astro droid chirping cheerfully.

"Hello, R2. Did you wait for me to wake up?" asked Kagome, smiling at the droid.

R2 gave a series of beeps, saying in his own language that he had.

"You didn't have to do that. I expect that it was boring having to wait for me," said Kagome, sitting up.

R2 replied that he had gone on 'sleep mode' in order to pass the time. Kagome nodded, understanding some of what he had said.

Then she realized that she was no longer cold. When she had fallen asleep, she distinctly remembered thinking that space was a little too cold for her liking, and that she should find a blanket or something before she got too cold. Had they turned up the heat?

Kagome looked down at herself and was surprised to see a brown robe tucked snugly around her shoulders. Blinking, she stroked the fabric with an index finger in order to feel its texture. It was somewhat rough and itchy to the touch, and made out of the same kind of cheap material that slaves on Tatooine wore for night outings.

"Where did this come from?" wondered Kagome out loud.

She remembered seeing an identical robe around Qui-Gon's shoulders earlier. Perhaps it was his? Smiling, she thought that it was a nice gesture for him to cover her up when she was cold.

Kagome stood and began folding the robe up neatly.

Then, clutching it to her chest, she said, "C'mon, R2! I have to return this to Qui-Gon-san and thank him!"

R2 beeped in confusion – Qui-Gon hadn't given it to her! – but followed after the errant girl just the same, following the sounds of her feet pattering against the floor of the ship.

Kagome began searching throughout the ship, trying to find the Jedi Master. When she had no clue as to his whereabouts, she spoke to one of Captain Panaka's officers – who had been passing by in the hall – and asked him where Qui-Gon was.

"I believe I saw him and his apprentice heading back to check on the hyperdrive a couple of minutes ago," said the officer, pointing down the hall.

"Thank you!" said Kagome, giving a hasty bow and running off the direction he had been pointing.

Once she was out of sight of the guard, she grumbled to herself. She would have been better off just staying where she was, if Qui-Gon was going _that_ way! Taking off at a jog, Kagome went back down the hall, poor R2 following at her heels.

Panting, she arrived outside the closed door to the hyperdrive room. Once she had caught her breath somewhat, she leaned near the door to check to see if anyone was in the room. She very faintly heard the murmur of voices behind the steel door.

Nodding, she pushed a button on the panel next to the door and watched the door slide open. R2 followed her into the room, beeping.

Kagome spotted Qui-Gon standing and checking the console on one of the machines in the room. To her surprise, she saw that he had his Jedi robe _on_. Then that must mean that the robe belonged to the _other_ Jedi, the one with the pretty eyes.

Qui-Gon looked up when he heard the door open and he smiled when he saw the newly-freed Kagome enter the room.

"Ah, Kagome, there you are. I see that you have brought my young Padawan his robe back; I was wondering where it had gone," he said with amusement.

"Y-yes, I have," said Kagome, and almost jumped when she saw Obi-Wan's head pop up from behind a machine with a strangely neat tangle of wires attached to it; his blue-grey eyes looked at her with surprise.

"Er, I brought you your robe back, Obi-Wan-san! Thank you for letting me borrow it!" said a flustered Kagome, bowing and holding out his robe while still in her bow.

Her cheeks heated up when she heard the sound of the Padawan's footsteps approach. She heard the footsteps stop in front of her, and then the weight of the robe leave her hands.

"Thank you," said Obi-Wan warmly, and Kagome straightened up, her face as red as a tomato.

She didn't dare look at his face; when she had first come on board, she had noticed how handsome he was. She was afraid that if she looked at him, she would blurt out that she thought he was – dare she say it – _cute_. And she dared not look him in the eyes, for fear of becoming hypnotized.

"Er–goodbye!" squeaked Kagome, and rushed out of the room; R2 seemed to follow her resignedly at his own steady pace.

Blinking, Obi-Wan turned to Qui-Gon – who seemed to be hiding a smile – and said, "She's a little shy, isn't she?"

––Iccccccccccccco

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Kagome growled, kicking at the floor as she walked down the hall.

She had made a complete fool out of herself back there, and she didn't even know why. For some reason, being around the younger Jedi made her shy and afraid of looking stupid. And Kagome was _not_ shy. She had greeted every nearly every customer that had walked into Watto's shop, and she had gone with Anakin to speak with space pilots before Shmi had forbade her from doing so.

"I must be coming down with something, R2," sighed Kagome to the little astro droid. "It's the only explanation."

"What's the only explanation?" asked Anakin as he stepped out from a nearby open doorway.

Kagome nearly jumped out her skin. Putting a hand to her heart, she felt it speed up as adrenaline shot through her veins.

Breathing a sigh, Kagome began angrily, "Anakin Skywalker! Don't you ever sneak up on me like that ever again!"

Anakin smirked and said, "That's what you said last time I snuck up on you. And the time before that. _And_ the time before that."

"You just wait! One of these days, I'm going to catch you in a dark alley and then–!" said Kagome, waggling her fingers at him and grinning evilly.

"What are you going to do? Tickle me to death?" asked Anakin skeptically, looking pointedly at her rapidly-moving fingers.

"I just might!" Kagome said, huffing and crossing her arms, "Were you looking for me?"

Anakin's face lit up and he said, "Yeah! We're really close to Coruscant, and we can watch our approach from the cockpit! C'mon!"

Kagome gave a yelp when Anakin darted forward and grabbed her hand, commencing to drag her down the hall. Sighing, she resigned herself to her fate and let him lead her away.

––Iccccccccccccco

The silver Nubian cruiser sped toward the large planet floating quietly in space in front of it. As Kagome gazed out the cockpit window, the first impression she had of Coruscant was of the glowing circles of red-orange on the surface, reminding her of tales of meteorites hitting a planet and liquidizing everything around them in shockwaves of heat and fire. Three visible moons – Centax-1, Centax-2, and Centax-3 – orbited the planet; there was another called Hesperidium, probably hidden behind the planet's hulk.

At twelve thousand two hundred-and-forty kilometers in diameter, Coruscant was the hotspot of politics in the galaxy. It was here, seated at the Galactic Senate, where Queen Amidala would protest what was happening on her planet of Naboo and ask for aid.

As the cruiser entered the atmosphere, Kagome caught sight of other space vehicles zooming past them. They were in the shadow of the planet, so the other cruisers were visible only by the light emitting from their engines.

Then they crossed into the light from Coruscant Prime (6), the planetary system's only sun, and Kagome beheld the majesty of the seat of Galactic power for the first time. Buildings hundreds of feet tall touched the sky, reflecting light everywhere. Lines of space cruisers flew through the air, following the routes determined for them by the law.

"Sugee (wow)…" Kagome breathed, her mouth hanging open as she stared out of the cockpit.

Anakin, who was standing next to her with his arm over a chair, listened to Ric Olie say, "Coruscant. The entire planet is one big city."

Spotting a landing platform near the ship, Ric Olie said, "There's Chancellor Valorum's shuttle."

Pushing a button to prepare for landing, he continued, "And look over there. Senator Palpatine is waiting for us."

As Ric Olie went around the platform in order to land on it properly, Kagome caught sight of an entourage of people dressed in black walking out of the shuttle docked there.

The Nubian cruiser gracefully touched down onto the platform, and the entourage of people waiting for the queen walked up to greet the newcomers. Among the entourage were Republican guards (7), who flanked the walkway.

Out of the cruiser came Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, followed by Jar Jar, Anakin, and Kagome, who was staring at the braid long hanging down from behind the Padawan's right ear. Then came Captain Panaka, followed by Queen Amidala – who looked like a black swan in her extravagant travel dress – and her handmaidens in their orange and yellow robes.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan bowed in the customary Jedi way. Anakin and Kagome hastily followed suit, trying to be polite. Jar Jar bowed as well, and Captain Panaka gave a nod. Then the two Jedi stood off to the side to let the Naboo queen through, Jar Jar taking a spot behind them.

Anakin had to be somewhat pulled out of the way by Qui-Gon, but Kagome quickly took a place in front of Obi-Wan, feeling jittery with the young man standing behind her. Anakin stood beside her, in front of Qui-Gon, who placed his hands on the young boy's shoulders.

Kagome studied the two politicians in front of her as the queen strode up. One was quite tall, with short white hair, cold eyes, and a stiff posture. The other was somewhat shorter, had graying light-brown hair, and a more welcome persona; however, there was something about this second man that put Kagome on edge.

The second man gave a welcoming smile to the queen and said, "It is a great gift to see you alive, Your Majesty. With the communications breakdown, we've been very concerned. I'm anxious to hear your report on the situation. May I present Supreme Chancellor Valorum (6)?"

He looked at the tall man next to him. Kagome narrowed her eyes; if the man next to him was Valorum, then he must surely be Senator Palpatine.

"Welcome, Your Highness," began Valorum. "It's an honor to finally meet you in person."

"Thank you, Supreme Chancellor," said the queen in her stern, political voice as she moved forward.

"I must relay to you how stressed everyone is over the current situation," said Valorum, walking next to the queen along with Palpatine.

Anakin and Kagome were right behind the queen, surrounded by her sunset-colored handmaidens. Anakin was watching what was going on with wide-eyed innocence; Kagome held onto every word, wanting to know what the situation was.

"…I've called for a special session of the senate to hear your position," continued Valorum.

The queen stopped and said, turning to him, "I'm grateful for your concern, Chancellor."

She sounded nothing of the sort; her demeanor suggested that she thought he was a spineless, idiotic fool.

Then the queen walked ahead, leaving Valorum behind along with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

"There is a question of procedure," said Palpatine, picking up where Valorum had been shoved off, "but I'm confident we can overcome it."

Anakin and Kagome were staring at the sky all around them in wonder as they walked with the queen's entourage. The queen continued to walk and speak to Palpatine as they approached the air taxi waiting for her near the platform.

Turning to Valorum, Qui-Gon said, "I must speak to the Jedi Council immediately. The…situation has become much more complicated."

Hearing Qui-Gon's voice, Anakin suddenly turned, noticing that the Jedi wasn't along with the group. He stood and watched the three behind him, Jar Jar passing him in his slow, rocking gait. Kagome stopped and hung back, waiting for Anakin.

Noticing that Anakin wasn't coming, Padmé said, "Ani, come on."

Anakin moved forward again, but looked back at Qui-Gon questioningly. Qui-Gon made a shooing motion with his hand.

As Anakin faced forward again, Kagome leaned towards him and said quietly with humor, "Don't worry; they've got _Jedi_ stuff to do. Like chopping firewood with their lightsabers (9)."

Anakin looked into her face with disbelief and Kagome began snorting with laughter. The younger boy realized that she was only joking and grinned.

The queen and her handmaidens quickly slipped into the back 'seats' of the air taxi, while Kagome, Anakin, and Jar Jar took the ones in front.

Jar Jar, who was sitting next to the driver of the taxi, jerked a thumb towards the back seat and said to the two children, "The queen's a bein' grossly nice, mesa tinks. Pitty hot!"

Kagome had to agree; the taxi was very nice.

The taxi pulled away from the docking platform and quickly gained speed as it flew off into the city. It dodged tall buildings made of steel and other strong metals, avoiding the cluttered traffic.

Finally, it docked into its destination: a large, expensive multiplex of apartments where Senator Palpatine had quarters. It was here that the senator had set up rooms for the queen and her companions.

All Kagome could do was gape and stare at all the majestic buildings around them, and greatly admire the richness of the capital of the galaxy.

Glancing at Anakin as the taxi docked, Kagome saw that Anakin had the same expression on his face; apparently, he agreed with her.

_**End**_

––Iccccccccccccco

**Author's Notes**

(1) This a formal Tatooine farewell. Kind of weird, saying that you hope someone's brain isn't blown up or something.

(2) My mom and I are both suckers for actors with pretty eyes. Among them would be Ewan McGregor and Russell Crowe. My mom and I like Liam Neeson, too, who plays Qui-Gon. We drool whenever we watch the newer _Star Wars _movies, and it's kinda embarrassing, especially with my dad in the room…

(3) A jerba is a Tatooine beast of burden with long, shaggy fur. It looks like a cross between an oxen and a horse, with some other interesting features. Tatooine colonists used it for leather, milk, and skin.

(4) Poor R2. He's so endearing and smart, and is still able to kick ass.

(5) Obi-Wan is always so polite, even when he's beating up on somebody.

(6) Seriously, some of the names of the suns in certain star systems are so boring and lack imagination!

(7) They look like Roman soldiers, except they're wearing black and blue… XD

(8) Valorum looks scary… T.T

(9) For those of you that are _Family Guy_ fans (like me!), have you seen the latest Star Wars episode, _Something, Something, Something, Darkside_? I wrote this sentence and then realized later that it was kind of like that one scene where Luke (a.k.a. Chris) is chopping down a tree with his lightsaber for his training with Yoda. Yeah…

––Iccccccccccccco

Another chappie done! Hip-hip-hooray! Seriously, if I was in Kagome's place when I saw first Obi-Wan, I'd hyperventilate first and then pass out.

Until next time, ja ne! ^.^


	6. Chapter VI: Test of the Jedi

Disclaimer: I swear on my faithful lightsaber that I do not own InuYasha or Star Wars. The catch is, I don't _own_ a lightsaber. ***grins evilly***

**Ages:**

Yoda – 864 (damn, that's old!)

Mace Windu – 40

Ki-Adi-Mundi - 60

"speaking"

'_thinking_'

**Chapter VI: Test of the Jedi**

––Iccccccccccccco

"_With all of us may the Force be, and may the peace of this temple be ours, a place open to thought and speech, a realm of mutual respect, and a haven of shared noble purpose. Let us take these seats together, with no one above the others. May we work together, free from the restraints of ego and jealousy, at this gathering and all others to come._"

~ Jedi High Council oath spoken during the full assemblage of its twelve members

––Iccccccccccccco

Captain Panaka passed Anakin, Kagome, and Jar Jar on his way to the adjoining room, the glass doors opening automatically at his approach. Inside sat Queen Amidala on one of Senator Palapine's comfy sofas, flanked on either side by two of her handmaidens, Eirtaé and Rabé; Padmé was nowhere to be seen.

In front of Queen Amidala, who had changed into a lighter-colored dress, Palpatine was pacing and speaking.

"…There is no civility, only politics," said Palpatine as Panaka entered. "The Republic is not what it once was. The Senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates. There is _no_ interest in the common good."

Turning to the queen, he said, "I must be frank, Your Majesty. There is little chance the Senate will act on the invasion."

"Chancellor Valorum seems to think there is hope," said Amidala regally.

"If I may say so, Your Majesty," said Palpatine hesitantly, "the Chancellor has little real power. He is mired by baseless accusations of corruption. The bureaucrats are in charge now."

"What options have we?" asked Amidala calmly.

"Our best choice would be to push for the election of a stronger Supreme Chancellor, one who could control the bureaucrats and give us justice," said Palpatine, approaching Amidala slowly.

"You…_could_ call for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum," he continued hesitantly.

"He has been our strongest supporter," said Amidala with protest.

"Our only _other_ choice would be to submit a plea to the courts," said Palpatine.

"The courts take even longer to decide things than the Senate. Our people are dying, Senator. We must do something quickly to stop the Federation," said the Naboo queen, sounding angry.

"To be realistic, Your Majesty, I think we're going to have to accept Federation control for the time being," said Palpatine, pacing and then stopping to look at her with finality.

"That is something I cannot do," said Amidala gravely.

––Iccccccccccccco

Watching Panaka enter the other room, Anakin said, "What do you think they're talking about in there?"

"Politics, probably," grumbled Kagome, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to him; her cheek was resting on her hand and her elbow was resting on her thigh, causing her words to come out somewhat muffled.

Anakin was standing next to Jar Jar, who was sitting in a chair next to the door.

"What's up with the door, anyway? You can see right through it," commented Anakin.

"They don't want anyone trying to listen in on their conversation through the door, is why. Plus, you can also see if someone gets attacked," said Kagome, digging her hand into the front pocket of her shirt.

Her hand closed around the sphere of the pinkish bauble she had received from Watto. Carefully, she drew her hand out and opened her fingers, rolling the jewel around in her palm. It caught the light coming in through the window, appearing to glow softly.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Anakin, squatting down next to Kagome. "Where'd you get that?"

"Watto gave it to me," said Kagome, continuing to roll the bauble around in the palm of her hand.

"_Watto_?" said Anakin incredulously. "What for?"

"He said it was found with me when I crashed onto Tatooine. He said that he 'never got around to selling it'," said Kagome, scoffing.

"You think he held onto it for you? You're crazy; Watto only cares about himself," said Anakin, giving his sister a weird look.

"Yeah," agreed Kagome absently. "But don't you think it's weird that he didn't try to sell it right away?"

Anakin shrugged and said, "Can I see it?"

Hesitantly, Kagome handed the jewel over to him. Anakin stood and held it up against the window, squinting one eye shut as he looked through the jewel.

"Hey, check it out!" said Anakin excitedly, handing the jewel over to Jar Jar; the Gungan had been looking curiously at the jewel.

Taking the jewel into his hand, Jar Jar did the same as Anakin.

"Oooh! It's muy, muy pitty and swirly!" he exclaimed.

"What? Let me see!" asked Kagome impatiently.

Jar Jar responded by handing her back the jewel, whereupon Kagome held the jewel up into the light coming through the window. Squinting, she was surprised to see that the jewel wasn't clear after all. Inside, very faintly, slow swirls of some unknown substance moved around, like blood when it entered water.

"That's kind of weird," remarked Kagome with puzzlement, lowering the jewel.

"What do you think it is?" asked Anakin.

"I don't know, and I don't really care right now. All I know is that I'm bored," said Kagome, sighing and dropping the jewel securely back into her pocket.

"We could…_explore_ this place," suggested Anakin hesitantly.

"Yeah, and probably open a closet to find a bunch of skeletons that this Palpatine guy put in there. No, thank you," said Kagome, jerking her thumb through the door at the senator.

"It wouldn't be boriiinnngg," pleaded Anakin, giving her puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine," said Kagome, jumping up. "Last one to find a dead guy in this apartment loses!"

Running off with a mischievous grin, Kagome exited the room and ran down a hallway. Anakin and Jar Jar exchanged looks.

"H-hey! Wait for me!" called Anakin, running off after Kagome.

Jar Jar watched the boy run off, and then stood, scratching his head, saying, "How did I get mesa into dis mess?"

––Iccccccccccccco

At the Jedi Temple, Qui-Gon was speaking to the Jedi High Council, Obi-Wan standing quietly at his side.

The room that they were standing in was called the High Council Chamber. Located at the summit of the High Council Tower in the southwestern quarter of the Jedi Temple, the circular room had twelve seats of various sizes sitting in a circle with a break in it. The circle broke where there was a door into the chambers. Five pillars that ringed the room had supports and wiring for the antennas that were on top of the tower. It was from these antennas that they received information vital to the Jedi. Also, on the yellow floor was a circle-like motif that symbolized harmony and balance between the Jedi and the Force.

"…He was trained in the Jedi arts. My only conclusion can be that it was a Sith Lord," said Qui-Gon, referring to his attacker on Tatooine.

"Impossible," said Ki-Adi-Mundi (1), a Cerean male, "the Sith have been extinct for a millennium."

"I…do not believe that the Sith could have returned without us knowing," said a dark-skinned Human male named Mace Windu skeptically.

He looked at the Grand Master of the Jedi, a small green being called Yoda, who was of an unknown and rare race.

"Ah, hard to see the dark side is," said Yoda (2) wisely.

Looking at Qui-Gon, Windu said, "We will use all of our resources to unravel this mystery. We will discover the identity of your attacker. May the Force be with you."

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan bowed. Obi-Wan started walking towards the door, but stopped and turned around when he heard Yoda sigh.

"Master Qui-Gon, _more_ to say have you?" asked Yoda.

Obi-Wan looked at his master with confusion, but said nothing. He merely stood out of the way and watched to see what Qui-Gon had to say.

"With your permission, my Master," said Qui-Gon, folding his arms within his robes and looking around, "I have encountered a vergence in the Force."

"A vergence, you say?" asked Yoda.

"Located around a _person_?" asked Windu with disbelief.

"A boy. His cells have the highest concentration of midi-chlorians I have seen in a life-form. It was possible he was conceived by the midi-chlorians," said Qui-Gon.

A Zabrak male named Eeth Koth and a Human female named Depa Billaba (3) glanced at each other.

"You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force. You believe it's this…boy?" asked Mace Windu, his disbelief growing.

"I don't presume to–" began Qui-Gon.

"But you do," interrupted Yoda. "Revealed, your opinion is."

"I request the boy be tested, Master," said Qui-Gon.

"Oh? Trained as a Jedi you request for him, hmm?" asked Yoda.

"Finding him and the girl was the will of the Force. I have no doubt of that," said Qui-Gon.

"Girl? You said nothing about a girl," said Windu, his patience with Qui-Gon waning.

"Living with the boy was a girl, whom I believe is a Nihonian (4)," said Qui-Gon.

There were murmurs amongst the other Council members this time.

"A Nihonian, you say?" asked Yoda, looking at Qui-Gon contemplatively.

"Yes. Her physical features match that of a Nihonian female's, and she also has a very high midi-chlorian count. Most Nihonians are Force-sensitive," said Qui-Gon.

"First, you claim that you have found the Chosen One, and then you claim that you have found a Nihonian? This is a lot to swallow, even from you, Master Qui-Gon," said Mace Windu. "The Nihonians haven't ventured out into the rest of the galaxy for millennia. They won't even accept diplomats from this Council."

"I believe that there is a Nihonian Jedi here?" asked Qui-Gon, raising an eyebrow.

"He's an exile, Master Qui-Gon, not a representative of his race in this Temple," contradicted Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"Yet he was made a Jedi, even when he was an adult, because of his extraordinary understanding of the Force," pointed out Qui-Gon.

"That is because they innately understand the Force at birth. They prefer to remain locked away in their dark nebula and want nothing to do with what's on the outside. They're cold and emotionless, pure and simple," said Windu.

"This girl isn't," said Qui-Gon, feeling that he was about to get his way.

The Council was steadily losing their patience with him, a feat that many did not have the ability to do.

"I simply want the boy and the girl to be tested and be trained if found worthy. That is all," said Qui-Gon, spreading his hands out in a pleading way.

The other council members, Ki-Adi-Mundi and Yoda among them, looked at Mace Windu; the Jedi Master immediately saw that the decision was up to him.

Sighing and shaking his head, Windu said, "Bring them before us, then."

Qui-Gon bowed his thanks, followed by Obi-Wan. Then the two Jedi walked over the entrance of the High Council Chamber, the door humming open. As they left, Yoda and Windu exchanged looks.

––Iccccccccccccco

Kagome and Jar Jar looked up from their seats when one of the droid servants that Palpatine had at his disposal ushered Anakin into their designated quarters (more like designated _suite_; they had their own rooms). The sandy-haired boy was scowling, and his face didn't get any better when he saw that the other two each had a plate of food in front of them.

Begrudgingly, Anakin pulled out a chair at the table where the other two were and sat down heavily into it. As the droid left the room, the door – which was not transparent – slid closed behind it with a 'whoosh'. Anakin continued to give his older sister a dirty look.

"So," said Kagome, smiling at Anakin, "how'd it go?"

Apparently, his scowl wasn't making a difference to her attitude.

When Anakin didn't answer, Kagome said, "Oh, they brought us food. Here, I saved your plate."

Reaching over to her side, she pushed a covered plate into view. Anakin, who was famished with hunger, eagerly grabbed it away from her and uncovered it. Kagome watched with raised eyebrows as the young boy began wolfing down the food as fast as he could. She didn't even think he had time to taste it, or even question why some of it was moving. Jar Jar appeared equally amazed at the speed Anakin was eating.

Kagome laid her head down at the table, in order to get a better look at Anakin's face.

"So," she began again, "I'm guessing you didn't find anything?"

Anakin spoke, his food mashing around his mouth, "No! It was a stupid plan anyway!"

"Hmph!" said Kagome contemptuously, raising her head. "You were the one that that wanted to explore."

"I said that I wanted to explore, not look for dead bodies that don't exist," snapped Anakin.

"Well, excuuuse me!" said Kagome angrily, crossing her arms and looking away haughtily.

Glowering, Anakin continued to eat his meal. Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome noticed that he was favoring some kind of small fruit on his plate, eating them with relish. She waited until there was only one left, and then grabbed it.

"Hey!" said Anakin, looking at her angrily.

"Hm, this looks _good_," said Kagome slyly, ignoring the boy.

"Give it back!" cried Anakin, getting up and reaching for the fruit.

Kagome stood in order to keep the fruit out of his reach, holding the fruit high above her head, though she was only a couple of inches taller than him herself.

"Jump for it," she said simply, her blue eyes reflecting her dark amusement at Anakin's predicament.

"That's not fair! Give it back!" said Anakin angrily, standing on tiptoe with his arm straining to get at the fruit.

"Fair? Of course it's fair! Otherwise I would have already done _this_!" said Kagome, smirking as she opened her mouth and brought the fruit near it.

"No! Don't!"

"I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna do it!" said Kagome teasingly, the fruit getting closer to her mouth.

"No!" said Anakin, tackling her to the ground.

Kagome hit the floor with an 'oof!', landing heavily on her back. Anakin was soon on top of her, grabbing for the hand that had the fruit. However, when it became apparent she wasn't going to give it up anytime soon and after much wrestling, Anakin suddenly switched to another tactic.

Jar Jar watched, unsure what to do, when Anakin began tickling Kagome unmercifully.

"S-stop it!" cried Kagome, rolling around on the floor as she laughed.

"Not until you give it back!" said Anakin, tickling her armpits.

"N-never! I w-won't– Ha ha ha!" laughed Kagome hysterically, her stomach starting to hurt.

Anakin responded by increasing his tickling. He grinned as Kagome started flailing her arms and legs in an attempt to get away, but her laughter was starting to tire her out.

"How about now?" asked Anakin.

Kagome shook her head frantically, tears starting to roll out of her eyes. Her stomach was beginning to ache from all of her laughing, but she wasn't about to give in. Taking away Anakin's fruit had been revenge against him for being grouchy at her, after all.

"Oh boys," said Jar Jar, watching the children continue to 'battle' on the floor.

––Iccccccccccccco

"Excuse me," asked Qui-Gon, "do you know where the children are?"

The Naboo officer that he had spoken to in the hallway nodded and pointed, saying, "They're through that door there."

Nodding his thanks, Qui-Gon continued on his way, his loyal Padawan at his side. Obi-Wan seemed a little perturbed by the color of Palpatine's quarters; everything ranged from maroon to scarlet, giving everything a somewhat warm but angry color scheme.

Both Jedi stopped outside the door that the officer had pointed out. The door, sensing their presence, slid open with a humming noise. Qui-Gon stepped neatly through the door, but stopped in momentary surprise at what he saw inside. Obi-Wan peeked his head past the other Jedi's shoulder to see what the hold up was about.

Anakin and Kagome were currently on the floor. The boy was kneeling next to the girl, tickling her so bad that she was clutching her stomach and had tears rolling down her face.

Jar Jar sent Qui-Gon and his apprentice a toothy smile.

"Hidoe," he greeted, apparently the only one in the room to have noticed the arrival of the two Jedi.

Qui-Gon nodded and smiled at the Gungan, and then turned his attention back to the two children. He walked further into the room, folding his arms within the depths of his long sleeves. Obi-Wan followed, who seemed a little unsure of what to make of the scene in front of him.

"Well, you two look like you're having fun," said Qui-Gon, smiling with amusement.

Both of the children stopped what they were doing and whipped their heads upwards to see who had spoken.

"Qui-Gon! You're back!" said Anakin, scrambling to his feet; Kagome said nothing, since she was panting for breath on the floor.

His eyes dropping downwards for a second, Anakin spotted the small fruit lying in Kagome's now-open palm.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, swooping down and plucking it from Kagome's hand.

He popped the fruit, which was now a little salty, into his mouth and chewed it.

Swallowing, he looked down at Kagome smugly and said, "I win!"

Kagome responded by sticking her tongue out at him. She even made a weak attempt to trip him as he stepped over her legs towards the visiting Jedi.

"Qui-Gon, sir! Where'd you go?" asked Anakin, his face lighting up at the sight of his favorite Jedi.

Qui-Gon smiled at Anakin and said, "Oh, we just had to go talk to the Jedi Council. We have to keep them up to date, you know."

"Oh," said Anakin. "Then why'd you come here?"

"To take you and Kagome to the Jedi Temple, of course," laughed Qui-Gon. "I did say that I was going to make you into a Jedi, didn't I?"

"The Council agreed to test you, to see if you are worthy of becoming one of our Order," added Obi-Wan, speaking at last.

"Really? Cool!" said Anakin, his face splitting into a grin.

He turned to Kagome and said, "Isn't that great, 'Gome?"

Kagome, who had been lying on the ground, looked up at her adopted brother and tiredly said, "Yes…"

Anakin turned back to Qui-Gon and asked, "When do we leave?"

"Now," said Qui-Gon.

"Oh," said Anakin.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization.

"Qui-Gon, sir! May I go say goodbye to Padmé?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Yes, you may," said Qui-Gon, nodding.

The tall man let Anakin by, stepping neatly aside so that the small boy could get to the door. Rolling onto her side, Kagome watched Anakin's face as he went out the door and turned to the left in the hallway.

"Hmmm," she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

'_He seems to have gotten awfully attached to Padmé,_' she mused, and her eyes brightened in realization.

Her face split into a mischievous grin, her eyes twinkling.

"Heh heh heh," she said, rubbing her hands together expectantly.

'_Something new to tease him about! How delightful!_'

"Would you like some help up?"

Looking up with surprise, Kagome's face turned scarlet when she saw Obi-Wan bending down next to her, his hand held out.

"Oh! Er– Okay…" said Kagome murmured, placing her small hand in his.

Obi-Wan gently tugged her to her feet, letting her hand go once he was sure she was steady on her feet.

"Thank you," mumbled Kagome, her eyes staring at her shuffling feet.

"You're welcome," said Obi-Wan, smiling with amusement at her.

Qui-Gon chuckled at Kagome's red face and her nervous behavior.

"So, Kagome, how do you like Coruscant so far?" he asked, trying to ease her tension.

"It's great! Everything's so big and shiny! Right, Jar Jar?" said Kagome, looking over at the Gungan.

Jar Jar smiled in his own goofy way and said, "Uh-huh! But where is all da water?"

"Most of it is tapped out of the ice caps and transported through pipes to the population. There are also several artificial seas," explained Qui-Gon.

"What will happen when the water runs out?" asked Kagome curiously.

Qui-Gon chuckled and said, "That won't happen in quite a while, Kagome."

"But it will," said Kagome, pouting.

"Not in thousands, even millions, of years," said Qui-Gon.

Kagome crossed her arms and pouted, saying, "Yeah, tell that to the people living here thousands or millions of years from now, who also happen to have no water."

Qui-Gon's face took on a somewhat pained and amused expression.

A soft laugh came from Obi-Wan, resulting in everyone looking at him. Kagome's face had turned red again, once she remembered that the young Jedi was standing near her.

"It's just funny watching you banter with someone much younger than yourself, Master," explained Obi-Wan, clearing his throat.

"Yes, I suppose it is," said Qui-Gon with a wry smile.

"Heya, 'Gome! Do ya tinks dat Ani will be a'eatin' dissen?" spoke up Jar Jar.

Kagome glanced at Anakin's half-eaten plate. Looking at the Gungan, she noticed that he was eying several uneaten fruits with his googly eyes.

"No, you could probably eat the rest of it," said Kagome. "Otherwise, it'll just be taken away."

In answer, Jar Jar snapped up one of the fruits with his long tongue, resulting in an exasperated look from Qui-Gon.

"'Scuse," said Jar Jar, making Kagome hide a smile from the Master Jedi.

––Iccccccccccccco

Anakin was standing outside the door of the Queen's designated quarters.

The guard – one of Panaka's officers – he had just spoken to pushed a button on his com-link and said, "The boy's here to see Padmé."

One of the handmaiden's voices said, "Let him in."

With a beep, the guard turned off the com-link and opened the door with another button. The door slid open and Anakin walked in

Rabé, dressed in darker robes, said in an accented voice, "I'm sorry, Ani, but Padmé's not here right now.

"Who is it?" asked a commanding voice from deeper within the quarters.

"Anakin Skywalker to see Padmé, Your Highness," said Rabé.

As Queen Amidala walked into view – dressed in another extravagant dress and headpiece – Anakin bowed respectfully.

"I've sent Padmé on an errand," said Amidala.

"I'm on my way to the Jedi Temple to start my training, I hope. I may never see her again, so I came to say goodbye," said Anakin.

"We will tell her for you," said Amidala in a softer tone. "We are sure her heart goes with you."

"Thank you, Your Highness," said Anakin, smiling a little and bowing.

Amidala turned and walked out of view again.

––Iccccccccccccco

Inside the large, domed Senate Building, the Grand Convocation Chamber was buzzing with activity. Droids flew about the Chamber, informing senators from all over the galaxy in their pods – there were 1,024 pods in the entire Chamber – lining the lavender-colored walls; you could hardly tell the color, since the Chamber always had dim lighting. In the middle of the Chamber, a thirty-meter podium was standing. This podium actually rose up out of the from the Chancellor's office.

"The chair recognizes the senator from the sovereign system of Naboo," said Valorum in a loud, echoing voice.

Palpatine moved over to the console on the queen's pod and moved it out into the middle of the Chamber, directly in front of Chancellor Valorum on the podium.

"Supreme Chancellor, delegates of the Senate," began Palpatine, looking around, "a tragedy has occurred, which started right here with the taxation of trade routes and has now engulfed our entire planet in the oppression of the Trade Federation."

A second pod entered the middle of the Chamber, full of Neimoidians, all related to the Trade Federation in some way.

"This is outrageous!" shouted a Neimoidian called Lott Dod. "I object to the Senator's statements."

"The chair does not recognize the senator from the Trade Federation at this time," said Valorum, his Vice Chairman – a Chagrian male named Mas Amedda – and his Staff Aide – a female Human named Sei Taria – stood at the intrusion.

"To state our allegations," continued Palpatine, "I present Queen Amidala, recently elected ruler of the Naboo, who speaks on our behalf."

Murmuring began in the Chamber as Amidala stood from her seat and walked up to replace Palpatine at the front of the pod.

"Honorable representatives of the Republic, I come to you under the gravest of circumstances. The Naboo system has been invaded by the droid armies of the Trade–"

"I object!" said Lott Dod. "There is no proof!"

"This is incredible," he continued. "We recommend a commission be sent to Naboo to ascertain the truth."

"The Congress of Malastare concurs with the honorable delegate of the Trade Federation. A commission must be appointed," said Aks Moe, a Gran Senator, as he pulled his pod out into the center, as well.

"The point–" began Valorum.

"Excuse me, Chancellor," said Mas Amedda quietly.

There was a wince-causing ring from the microphone, and the two began conversing quietly.

"Enter the bureaucrat. The true rulers of the Republic," said Palpatine quietly next to Amidala. "_And_ on the payroll of the Trade Federation, I might add. This is where Chancellor Valorum's strength will disappear."

Going back to his microphone, Valorum continued.

"The point is conceded," he said. "Will you defer your motion to allow a commission to explore the validity of your accusations?"

"I _will not_ defer," said Amidala defiantly. "I've come before you to resolve this attack on our sovereignty _now_. I was _not_ elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee! If this body is not capable of action, I suggest _new_ leadership is needed. I move for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum's leadership."

The Grand Convocation Chamber began to echo with shouting and murmuring from the other Senators gathered there. Many of them seemed to agree with what Amidala had just said. Realizing that he had been defeated, Valorum sat down heavily.

"Vote now! Vote now! Vote now! Vote now!" chanted several senators, others taking up with them. (5)

Mas Amedda stood and said, "Order!"

"Now they will elect a new Chancellor, a _strong_ Chancellor, one who will not let our tragedy continue," said Palpatine quietly into Amidala's ear.

The queen looked like she was about to cry.

––Iccccccccccccco

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were strolling out onto one of the various balconies of the Jedi Temple.

"They will not pass the Council's test, Master. Both of them are too old," protested Obi-Wan.

"Anakin will become a Jedi, I promise you," said Qui-Gon.

"What about the girl? You seem keen on getting the boy into training, but what about her?" said Obi-Wan.

"Oh, you're defending my decision now, are you?" asked Qui-Gon.

"You know that's not what I meant, Master," said Obi-Wan, looking at Qui-Gon solemnly.

"Kagome is as likely as Anakin is in becoming a Jedi, don't you worry," soothed Qui-Gon, somewhat amused by Obi-Wan's defense of the girl.

"Master, listen to me. Do not defy the Council, not again," said Obi-Wan pleadingly.

"I shall do what I must, Obi-Wan," said Qui-Gon, looking at Obi-Wan as if he didn't care what the Council thought.

"If you would just follow the Code, you would be on the Council. They will not go along with you this time," said Obi-Wan as they approached the edge of the balcony.

"You still have much to learn, my young apprentice," said Qui-Gon warmly, clapping a hand onto Obi-Wan's shoulder.

They looked out at the highways in the air, cruisers zooming into the sunset and the dusk that was approaching.

––Iccccccccccccco

Kagome sat slumped against the wall of the hallway, casting glances towards the door next to her every couple of minutes. She was worried about Anakin; he had gone into the Jedi Council Chamber behind that door, and was currently being tested. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had gone off somewhere, after making sure that she was okay by being with herself. For goodness sake, she was twelve, wasn't she? She could take care of herself.

She had been unable to get angry with them, because she had been hot and blushing the whole time. Anakin had wondered out loud what in Tatooine was the matter with her, and Kagome was wondering the same thing. Maybe she was getting really sick. But she only felt that way in Obi-Wan's presence, for some reason.

Trying to keep her nervousness in check, she pulled out the jewel Watto had given her. She began rolling it between her hands, which were clasped as if in prayer in front of her.

'_I hope you make it, Ani,_' she thought.

––Iccccccccccccco

Anakin stood in the middle of the sunset-lit High Council Chamber, facing Yoda and Mace Windu. The dark-skinned Jedi was holding up a viewing screen, displaying random images that the boy had to use his intuition in the Force to guess.

"…A ship…" said Anakin, "…A cup… …A ship… …A speeder."

Windu lowered the viewing screen and nodded to Yoda.

"Hmm," said Yoda, looking at Anakin and rubbing his upper lip thoughtfully. "How feel you?"

"Cold, sir," answered Anakin, gulping.

"Afraid, are you?" asked Yoda.

"No, sir," said Anakin, a bit untruthfully.

"See through you we can," said Yoda.

"Be mindful of your feelings," warned Windu.

"Your thoughts dwell on your mother…and your sister…who is not your sister," said Ki-Adi-Mundi gently.

"I miss my mom, and Kagome may not be related to me by blood, but I've known her as long as I can remember. She's like family," said Anakin truthfully.

"Mmm," said Yoda contemplatively, "Afraid to lose your mother, I think, mmm? Afraid that your sister will not become a Jedi? Afraid that you will not see your sister again if she doesn't?"

"What does that got to do with anything?" asked Anakin snidely.

"Everything!" said Yoda. "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to…suffering."

Anakin, perturbed, glanced at Mace Windu, who was rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Yoda sighed and said, "I sense much fear in you."

There was a moment of silence.

Then Windu sat up and said, "Send in your sister, please, and wait out in the hall until we are done testing her."

Anakin nodded and bowed.

––Iccccccccccccco

The door to the Council Chamber hummed open, and Kagome scrambled up into a standing position. She blinked her eyes, trying to get awake; she had actually been in a light doze.

Seeing Anakin, she walked over to him. The door hummed closed behind him.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"Good, I guess," said Anakin, giving a shrug and a twitch of the corner of his mouth.

"You guess?" asked Kagome dubiously.

"It's your turn now. You probably shouldn't keep them waiting; they're kind of scary. I think they can see into your mind," said Anakin in a high whisper, cupping a hand around his mouth and leaning forward.

Kagome swallowed nervously, and then screwed up her strength. She remembered when she had confronted Sebulba, and felt the courage she had then fill her.

"Good luck," Anakin called after her, and Kagome nodded as she walked up to the door.

It hummed open, and Kagome found herself bathed in the light of the afternoon sun. Stepping through, she saw all of the Council members sitting in a sort of circle.

"Come in, child. Come in," said a strange grating voice from the smallest member there, a green fellow with large ears.

Hesitantly, Kagome made her way into the middle of the room, standing on the motif in the middle just as Anakin had done. She tried not to meet the eyes of anyone, but it was hard not to, since they were all trying to get a look at her face.

Kagome slowly lifted up her face to meet the green creature's gaze.

"Hmm. No manners, have you?" asked the green creature with a hint of amusement in his strange voice.

Kagome started guiltily and then bowed hurriedly, saying, "Good afternoon, sir! I am…Kagome Higurashi."

She figured she ought to get used to saying her first name first; she was sick of people asking why she said her first name last.

The green person started laughing – a peculiar sound – and Kagome looked up with surprise.

"Ano (um)… Did I do something…wrong, sir…?" she asked quietly, standing up straight.

"No, no. But wonder who I am, you do. Yes?" asked the green man.

Kagome blinked and said, "Yes…?"

The alien being laughed again and said, "Yoda, my name is."

"Nice to meet you, Yoda-san," said Kagome, giving another bow.

"More manners than the last one, you have. Master Windu, take over from here, you will?" asked Yoda, referring to the Human with dark skin next to him.

"This viewing screen," said 'Master Windu', holding up a screen with a handholding extension on the bottom, "will display a series of objects. Using your intuition, you will guess what these objects are, _without_ looking at the screen. Understood?"

Kagome nodded and said, "Yes, sir."

"Good. We will start…now," said Windu, pressing a button on the viewing screen.

All of the upcoming objects appeared in Kagome's mind in rapid succession before the screen could even put up one image, which was of a ship.

"A ship, a cruiser, a cup, a droid, a probe, a ship, a cup, a cruiser," said Kagome without pausing for breath, as she named off the objects that came into her mind.

She blinked in surprise. Mace Windu's practically invisible eyebrows shot upwards as the objects flashed across the screen, long after Kagome had named them off. Other than the eyebrows thing, he betrayed no other emotion as he lowered the screen and looked at Yoda, nodding slowly.

Yoda nodded back and turned to Kagome, studying her. The girl had to try very hard not to squirm under his gaze.

After a moment of silence, Yoda said, "How feel you?"

'_How do I feel? Is this part of the test?_' thought Kagome with confusion.

"Can't you just read my mind and find out?" she blurted, before clapping a hand over her mouth.

She turned red when several of the other Jedi chuckled quietly in amusement.

"Understand your thoughts we can," said Yoda, shaking his head, "but understand your own feelings you must."

'_Understand my feelings?_' thought Kagome.

Hesitantly, she opened her mouth and said, "Well, sir, I feel…worried."

"Why?" asked Yoda.

Kagome squirmed uncomfortably, feeling as if everyone in the room could see right through her, as if she were completely transparent.

"I worry about my adopted mother, back on Tatooine. And I worry about Anakin, too," she said timidly.

"Worry, or fear for?" asked Yoda.

Kagome's heart did a flip-flop, and her emotions scrambled. She finally settled for giving Yoda a defiant pout.

"So what if I'm afraid? I won't let it take control of me, if that's what you think! I never have and I never will!" said Kagome loudly, her voice echoing in the room.

Realizing that she had just yelled at the Jedi elite, her eyes widened and she stared at her feet, expecting to be struck down by some unknown force. Or at least thrown out of the room. Swallowing nervously, she forced down the panic that raised its ugly head within her.

Bowing low, she said, "I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

"Hmmm. Very expressive, you are, yet so in control of your emotions. Strange for one such as you," mused the green being after a moment.

Kagome looked up with surprise and thought, '_One such as me?_'

Windu glanced at Yoda, who nodded at him.

Looking back at Kagome, Windu said, "Your testing has convened. You may wait outside."

Kagome bowed respectfully and strode out of the center of the motif. She reached the door, which hummed open. Stepping through it, she gave a sigh of relief when it closed behind her.

Anakin, who was sitting against the wall, looked up as she approached him.

"How'd you do?" he asked, as she slid down the wall to sit next to him.

"I yelled at them," groaned Kagome, covering her face with her hands in exasperation.

"You _what_?" asked Anakin, his eyes widening.

"I know," groaned Kagome again. "I couldn't stop myself."

"Well, at least we know your personality didn't change on the trip to Coruscant," said Anakin, grinning.

"Hey!" said Kagome, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"Ow!" said Anakin, grabbing his shoulder.

"Oh, come on! I barely touched you!" sniffed Kagome, crossing her arms and sticking her nose up into the air.

They were silent for a moment, before Kagome sighed.

Turning to Anakin, she said, "So, what do we do now?"

––Iccccccccccccco

The sun had just set, and Queen Amidala was standing in front of one of the large windows in Palpatine's quarters. Jar Jar approached her, in a serious mood for once.

"Yousa tinking yousa people ganna die?" he asked in a disbelieving tone.

"I don't know," said Amidala.

"Gungans get pasted too, eh?" asked Jar Jar, looking sadly out of the window.

"I hope not," said Amidala, still managing her regal tone while in her somewhat depressed state.

"Gungans no dyin' without a fight. Wesa warriors. Wesa got a _grand_ army," said Jar Jar proudly. "Dats why you no liken us, mesa tinks."

Amidala said nothing.

From behind her, there was the sound of a door humming open.

"Your Highness?" came Captain Panaka's voice.

Amidala turned, hearing the excited tone of his voice. She saw the captain emerging from the sliding door, followed by Palpatine.

"Your Highness," said Panaka, grinning and bowing, "Senator Palpatine has been nominated to succeed Valorum as Supreme Chancellor."

"A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one," said Palpatine, approaching Amidala with a delighted smile on his face.

Amidala turned and began walking away from him, as if disinterested.

"Your Majesty, if I am elected, I promise to put an end to corruption," said Palpatine.

"Who else has been nominated?" asked Amidala, turning to face him.

"Bail Antilles of Alderaan (6) and Ainlee Teem of Malastare," said Panaka.

"I feel confident our situation will create a strong sympathy vote for us," said Palpatine, sitting down. "I will be Chancellor."

"I fear by the time you have control of the bureaucrats, Senator, there'll be nothing left of our people, our way of life," said Amidala, turning from him once more.

"I understand your concern, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, the Federation has control of our planet," said Palpatine, stating the obvious.

Amidala was silent for a moment, before saying, "Senator, this is your arena. I feel I must return to mine."

Turning back to Palpatine, she said, "I've decided to go back to Naboo."

"Go back?" asked Palpatine incredulously, getting to his feet. "But, Your Majesty, be realistic. They'll force you to sign the treaty."

"I will sign no treaty, Senator," said Amidala with finality, "My fate will be no different than that of our people. Captain."

"Your Highness," said Panaka in acknowledgement.

"Ready my ship," said the Naboo queen, heading for the door.

"Please, Your Majesty, stay here where it's safe," Palpatine called after her.

Amidala turned around and said, "It is clear to me now that the Republic no longer functions. I pray you will bring sanity and compassion back to the Senate."

Then she turned, and left the room.

––Iccccccccccccco

Back in the High Council Chamber, Ki-Adi-Mundi was speaking to Qui-Gon, who was there along with his Padawan and the two children.

"The Force is strong with both of them," said Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"They are to be trained, then?" asked Qui-Gon, causing Anakin to look up at him.

"No," said Windu. "They will not be trained."

"No?" asked Qui-Gon with disbelief, resting his hands on his hips in a defensive manner.

Anakin and Kagome's eyes darted around, unsure what to make of the situation.

"They are too old," said Windu simply.

"Anakin _is_ the Chosen One. You must see it," argued Qui-Gon.

'_Since when has Ani been some kind of "Chosen One"?_' thought Kagome with confusion.

"Mmm," said Yoda, closing his eyes. "Clouded, this boy's future is."

Qui-Gon, seeing that nobody was going to say anything more on the subject, strode forward.

"I will train him, then," he said, earning a shocked looked from Obi-Wan.

Putting his hands on Anakin's shoulders (7), Qui-Gon said formally, "I take Anakin as my Padawan learner."

"An apprentice you have, Qui-Gon. _Impossible_ to take on a second," said Yoda.

"The Code forbids it," added Windu.

"Obi-Wan is ready," said Qui-Gon, looking at his Padawan.

"I _am_ ready to take the trials," said Obi-Wan, speaking up from behind Kagome.

"Our _own_ counsel we will keep on who is ready," said Yoda, letting a hint of irritation enter his voice.

"He is headstrong, and he has much to learn of the Living Force, but he is capable," said Qui-Gon persuasively, "There is little more he can learn from me."

He and Obi-Wan exchanged angry glances.

Kagome, meanwhile, had been staring at her feet with her fists clenched. She wasn't angry, but oddly calm and resigned to what was happening. Anakin was going to get training in the end, probably, while she was the odd person out.

'_It's always about Ani, isn't it? I guess, I'm happy for you, Ani,_' thought Kagome. '_You'll finally be able to become a Jedi, and travel the stars. Maybe you'll even free the slaves on Tatooine, just like you dreamed._'

"What about Kagome?" piped up Anakin bravely. "You haven't said anything about her!"

Kagome looked up in surprise, considering that Anakin had been silent this whole time. Some of the Council members seemed to share her surprise.

"Yes, young Skywalker?" asked Yoda, prompting Anakin to go on.

Anakin became nervous, his eyes darting around as he realized what he had landed himself in. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan looked down at him expectantly.

"W-well… All you've been talking about is me! What about 'Gome? She can predict the future, too! And she haggles really well, and she can make things move without touching them–"

"Ani!" Kagome hissed angrily, not wanting him to share that tidbit of information.

"But it's true!" protested Anakin, giving her an annoyed look; he was only trying to help!

Hearing Yoda clear his throat, the two children stopped bickering and immediately went on their best behavior.

"Thank you for your input, young Skywalker," said Yoda, before turning to Qui-Gon. "Nevertheless, young Skywalker and Higurashi's fate will be decided later."

"Now is not the time for this," said Mace Windu, leaning forward in his seat. "The Senate is voting for a new Supreme Chancellor, and Queen Amidala is returning home, which will put pressure on the Federation and could widen the confrontation."

"And draw out the queen's attacker," added Ki-Adi-Mundi sagely.

"Go with the queen to Naboo and discover the identity of this dark warrior," said Windu.

Qui-Gon nodded.

"_This_ is the clue we need to unravel the mystery of the Sith," continued Windu, before sitting back in his chair again.

"May the Force be with you," said Yoda, announcing that the meeting had come to an end.

Kagome, Anakin, and Obi-Wan all bowed; Qui-Gon did not. The older man ushered Anakin out the door quickly, while Kagome trotted along behind. As they left the room, Yoda and Windu exchanged glances once more.

––Iccccccccccccco

Kagome sat in the back of the cruiser they had taken from the Jedi Temple, her mind currently lost in thought. She kept mentally playing over and over the words that Master Windu had said.

'This _is the clue we need to unravel the mystery of the Sith… …the mystery of the Sith… …the Sith…_' his voice said, echoing in her mind.

_Sith._ Kagome's brow furrowed. Where had she heard that word before? It seemed so familiar, yet so out of reach…

Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome glanced at Anakin, who was busy gaping at all of the cruisers and pods flying off into the night. And while looking at Anakin, the answer came to her.

It had been a little over a year ago, when she had first heard of the Sith. She and Anakin had been rummaging around in Watto's junkyard, looking for scraps to please the Toydarian. Even Watto didn't know what was dumped in his junkyard at times, so she and Anakin had gotten it into their minds to appease him; Watto had been unusually grouchy at that time.

It was while rummaging around the piles of scrap metal, Anakin had found an old war droid that had looked older than time itself. He had said that the holoprojector on the droid would make a good item for Watto, since good holoprojectors didn't come cheap. Then Anakin had activated the hologram that was already on the holoprojector.

Kagome and Anakin had stared, horrified and transfixed, at the static-filled hologram that appeared. It was not the images – which were blurred anyway – but the screams and cries of terror of unknown people long dead. And among those screams, the people shouted the word 'Sith' (8).

After getting off work, Anakin had gone to the space pilot that had told him about the angels on the moons of Iego. The space pilot, who was a member of the Republic Fighter Corps, had been stranded on Tatooine. Kagome had gone home, because Shmi didn't approve of her hanging around with the strangers that came into the spaceport.

When Anakin came home later, he had explained what the word 'Sith' was. The Sith were considered dark-Jedi, using negative emotions in order to fuel the Force. Around four thousand years previously, the Sith order had turned on itself from within, and they were supposedly wiped out. _But_, Anakin had told her, one Sith Lord had supposedly survived, and had continued the order in secret to the present.

Kagome looked over at Anakin again, who was now staring below him at the traffic moving closer to the planet's surface.

Smiling ruefully, she thought, '_The word didn't really bother you, did it, Ani?_'

Her smile faded as she looked back at her lap. The Jedi Master called Windu had said that they needed to unravel the truth surrounding the Sith. If the Jedi High Council was concerning itself over supposed-hokum and fairytales, then could that mean that the Sith were…?

'_The Sith are just a myth…aren't they…?_' thought Kagome uncertainly.

But deep inside, she knew that just as there was a side for light and justice, then there also had to be a side for darkness and misdeeds. That was just the way the universe was balanced.

_**End**_

––Iccccccccccccco

**Author's Notes**

(1) His name reminds of the name of an animal, called a coatimundi. They are a member of the raccoon family, and are native to southwestern North America, and mainly in Central America and South America. They're so cute!

(2) Man, I was _so_ glad when they finally put Yoda in CG. I guess you can't be a kick-ass, leaping Jedi Master if you're a Jim Henson puppet, now can you?

(3) She went to the dark side. In fact, a lot of Jedi have come close to losing themselves to the dark side, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan included

(4) I got 'Nihonian' from the Japanese word 'Nihon' which means 'Japan'. 'Nippon' is another name for Japan, but 'Nipponian' just didn't sound right.

(5) At about an hour, 29 minutes, and 10 seconds into the movie, pause the movie and look down at the lower left corner. There are ETs standing in one of the pods in the chamber!

(6) Not to be confused with Bail Organa, who is also a senator from Alderaan. Originally, Bail Organa _was_ Bail Antilles, but was renamed because Leia, his adopted daughter, was called Leia Organa.

(7) Have you noticed that Qui-Gon touches Anakin like this entirely too much? LOL! They make fun of this fact in a little video on YouTube called 'Jedi Council: What the Hell is Going On?' by a guy called AlexWroten. I recommend seeing it, because if you're feeling down, it'll make ya giggle – or snort with laughter.

(8) This is a true fact. About a year or so before Anakin met Qui-Gon, Anakin found a war droid with a 4,000 year-old hologram on it with Sith slaughtering innocents and each other. So he went to the stranded pilot and asked him about it. Funny that he didn't seem to remember it afterward. XD

––Iccccccccccccco

Hmm, enjoy this chapter, you did? Review, you must. Enjoy your reviews, I do. Speaking like Yoda, I suck at.

^.^ !emit txen litnu, en aJ


	7. Chapter VII: Return to Naboo

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or InuYasha, but I wish that I owned an Obi-Wan Kenobi plushie! Aw! Mini Ewan McGregor! ***squeezes imaginary plushie to death***

"speaking"

'_thinking_'

**Chapter VII: Return to Naboo**

––Iccccccccccccco

"_Datsa Boss Nass? Hesa ugly!_"

~ Jar Jar Binks (presumably during his first meeting with Nass)

––Iccccccccccccco

"It's not disrespect, Master. It's the truth," said Obi-Wan hesitantly, walking beside Qui-Gon.

"From your point of view," said Qui-Gon bluntly.

The two Jedi were currently walking away from the loading ramp of the queen's Nubian ship, waiting for Amidala to arrive.

"The boy is dangerous. They all sense it. Why can't you?" insisted Obi-Wan.

"His fate is uncertain," said Qui-Gon, turning to his Padawan. "He's not dangerous. The Council will decide Anakin's future. That should be enough for you. Now get on board."

Obi-Wan hesitated somewhat, but did as he was told, quietly angry. Qui-Gon, meanwhile, turned to Anakin, who had been nearby, tending to R2. He jumped somewhat when he saw that Kagome, who was also tending to R2, was staring at him with a steel-like gaze, her blue eyes cutting him like a knife; she must have been listening. Anakin appeared to have heard everything as well, since he left R2 and walked over to the tall Jedi.

"Qui-Gon, sir," said Anakin guiltily, "I don't want to be a problem."

"You won't be, Ani," said Qui-Gon, squatting down next to the boy and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not allowed to train you, so I want you to watch me and be mindful. Always remember: Your focus determines your reality. Stay close to me and you'll be safe."

"Master, sir," said Anakin after a moment, "I heard Yoda talking about midi-chlorians. I've been wondering– What are midi-chlorians?"

Qui-Gon smiled at Anakin's innocent curiosity and said, "Midi-chlorians are a microscopic life-form that resides within all living cells (1)."

"They live inside me?" asked Anakin skeptically.

"Inside your cells, yes," Qui-Gon confirmed. "And we are symbionts with them."

"Symbionts?" repeated Anakin, wondering at the unfamiliar word.

"Life-forms living together for mutual advantage. Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force," explained Qui-Gon.

"They continually speak to us," he continued, "telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, you'll hear them speaking to you."

"I don't understand," said Anakin, shaking his head.

"With time and training, Ani, you will. You will," said Qui-Gon, patting Anakin on the shoulder and standing to his full height.

Seeing that Amidala and her handmaidens, plus Captain Panaka, were approaching, Qui-Gon went to greet her. Anakin, meanwhile, went back over to R2 to continue inspecting the little droid with Kagome.

"Your Majesty, it is our pleasure to continue to serve and protect you," said Qui-Gon respectfully when Amidala approached him.

"I welcome your help," said the queen, actually sounding grateful as Qui-Gon fell into step alongside her. "Senator Palpatine fears that the Federation means to destroy me."

"I assure you I will not allow that to happen," said Qui-Gon, as they boarded the ship.

"Wesa goin' hoooome!" cheered Jar Jar, raising his skinny arms into the air.

"Come on, R2," said Anakin, walking up to the loading ramp.

R2 whistled happily, followed by Kagome, who smiled at the droid's cheerful tone.

Once everyone was on board, the Nubian cruiser left the platform and flew up into the planet's upper atmosphere. Once it had left the planet's orbit entirely, the ship immediately went into hyperspace, heading for the jungle-filled planet of Naboo.

––Iccccccccccccco

Kagome wandered around the deserted halls of the Nubian spacecraft, unable to sleep. Although she had been awake now for over twenty-four hours, she couldn't get to sleep. She figured she had passed the exhausted state to the hyperactive and aware state filled with fatigue.

Plus, what she had overheard Obi-Wan say to his Master bothered her. Anakin, dangerous? Sure, he could be a real jerk sometimes, but he never really meant any harm.

'_Hah!_' thought Kagome derisively. '_If Ani's dangerous, than I'm going to end up being a Jedi._'

The thought made her pause, sadness filling her. She thought it was pretty unlikely that she'd end up becoming a Jedi. The Council had seemed more interested in Anakin than her. Plus, she was older than Anakin was, which made it even more unlikely.

'_I've never felt so old in my life,_' she thought, smirking to herself.

Stopping outside a door, she pushed the button on the control panel outside.

'_Maybe I can ask Padmé to ask the queen if I can become one of her handmaidens,_' Kagome thought, waiting for the door to open.

She frowned when the door didn't even budge. Pushing the button again, she waited for it to open once more. A look of irritation went over Kagome's face.

'_Or,_' she thought, removing the cover of the control panel, '_I could become this ship's personal mechanic. The poor thing looks like it's been through a lot._'

Setting the cover of the panel on the floor, she looked at the neat tangling of colorful wires and shiny computer chips in the interior.

"Looks like it just overloaded… We'll have you fixed up in no time," Kagome said cheerfully to the control panel; Anakin thought it was weird that she talked to non-sentient machines.

Switching several of the wires around, she carefully placed them where they could channel energy like they normally could. Once everything was connected and looked okay, Kagome reattached the cover and pushed the button to open the door. She smiled brightly when it hummed open.

Peeking inside, Kagome found the interior very boring. Just a storage room. She left the door and walked down to the next door in the hallway. It was likely that all of the doors in this hallway had overloaded and needed repairing, since they all ran on the same circuit.

Ignoring the sound of the first door humming closed, Kagome pushed the button for the second door. When it didn't open, she opened the cover to the control panel and repeated the same procedure.

Within a minute, she was humming cheerfully as she fixed door after door, happiness filling her as every door worked after she switched the bright wires around. Fixing machinery was something that she was familiar with and it made her feel content.

So far, every room that she had opened was a storage room of some kind, but held nothing special. However, when the last door opened, her eyes widened with delight.

Dehydrated food packages were stacked neatly on the shelves, illustrated with bright colors. Kagome's stomach rumbled, and her mouth began to water as she looked upon the heavenly scene in front of her.

"FOOD!" she cried, before dashing into the room.

––Iccccccccccccco

"Why are we coming down here?" inquired Obi-Wan, walking beside his master in the hallway.

"One of Panaka's officers mentioned that the doors in this hallway didn't work. I figured that we could try to repair them while we wait for our arrival on Naboo," said Qui-Gon, stopping and surveying the row of closed doors.

Walking up to the first door, he pushed the button on the control console that opened the door.

"Master, if they don't work, then why did you–?" began Obi-Wan, before the door hummed open effortlessly.

The two Jedi exchanged confused glances. Brow furrowed, Qui-Gon strode over to the door next in line down the hallway and opened it using the control panel.

Seeing the door hum open, Obi-Wan said, "Are you sure we're on the right level, Master?"

"Yes," said Qui-Gon, starting to remove the cover of the control panel.

He took one look at the contents and murmured, "Interesting. The wires are switched around."

Obi-Wan walked over to Qui-Gon and looked at the wires himself.

"Whoever did this created a bypass in order to give the circuit a new path to flow through," he said after a moment, studying the wires.

Qui-Gon placed the cover back on and began pushing the buttons to the doors, one by one. Each one slid open like the first one did, and once opening the control panel, revealed the same pattern of wiring.

As the two Jedi neared the last room, Qui-Gon paused.

"I hear something," he said quietly.

They stood still for a moment, hardly breathing. The sound was faint, and was coming from behind the last door. It sounded like…humming? Not like from machinery, but from a living, breathing being.

"I think we've found our repair culprit," said Qui-Gon, smiling with amusement as he pushed the button to the door.

"You already know who it is, don't you?" said Obi-Wan with exasperation.

The door hummed open, revealing the interior of the room. Obi-Wan blinked when he saw the Near-Human girl, Kagome, stretched out comfortably on the ground between the two shelves on either side of the room. Several empty food packages were stacked in a neat pile next to her, and her hand was currently rummaging around in a full one.

The girl froze when she saw that she had been found.

Giving a nervous smile at them, she said, "Ano… I got hungry?"

––Iccccccccccccco

By Nal Hutta (2), she had been discovered! Kagome had been hoping to get a decent meal from the food packages, and only minutes later, she had been found! Worse, it was by Qui-Gon and…_him_.

Smiling nervously, Kagome said, "Ano… I got hungry?"

It was a weak excuse, and she knew it.

However, Qui-Gon took it good-naturedly, as he usually did.

"I can see that," he said with amusement, stepping neatly into the room.

Standing up hastily, Kagome brushed crumbs off her Tatooine clothing. Her face was pink from embarrassment at being caught red-handed, but it deepened to scarlet when she saw Obi-Wan follow his master into the room.

"I-I just was hungry, and I came across this room when I was exploring–" Kagome stammered.

"Exploring?" Qui-Gon interrupted, "You didn't happen to fix these doors here in the hallway, did you?"

"Yes. Was I…not supposed to…?" asked Kagome timidly, fearing that she was in trouble.

"No, no, that's fine," said Qui-Gon. "You actually saved us the trouble of fixing them ourselves. Right, Obi-Wan?"

"Yes, Master," said Obi-Wan, nodding.

"But…why would _you_ have to fix them? You're Jedi," stated Kagome, her blue eyes reflecting her confusion.

Qui-Gon chuckled and said, "Just because we're keepers of the peace doesn't mean we can't do other things. Like repairing machinery, for example."

"Oh," said Kagome in surprise, feeling slightly stupid; Jedi were people, so of course they would have other skills.

Bending down, she gathered up the discarded food packages stacked on the floor and neatly held them in one hand. She figured that she had wasted the time of the two Jedi for long enough, that she ought to be going. Besides, now that she was full, she felt ready for sleep.

"I guess I'll be going now, Qui-Gon-san. It was nice speaking to you," she said genuinely, bowing deeply to him.

Her gaze slid over to Obi-Wan's. The Padawan learner had been watching and waiting patiently for his master to finish speaking, never saying anything. Remembering the words she had overhead from him on the landing platform, a surge of anger went through her. How dare he question what Ani was!

Screwing her face up into a scowl, Kagome glared at Obi-Wan. Then she promptly stuck her tongue out at him, making a 'nnnn!' noise.

Obi-Wan stepped back in surprise as she fled out the door and into the hallway, making a break for it. With any luck, that would teach him a lesson not to talk bad about her little brother!

––Iccccccccccccco

Listening to the echo of the girl's retreating footsteps, Obi-Wan looked at Qui-Gon with disbelief.

"Why on earth did she do that?" he exclaimed.

Qui-Gon chuckled and said, "She overheard what you said about Ani back when we were loading up. I don't think she approved of it very much."

"I see," said Obi-Wan quietly, suddenly feeling guilty.

"Ah, don't worry," said Qui-Gon, clapping a hand on his Padawan's shoulder. "She'll come 'round."

Obi-Wan said nothing.

––Iccccccccccccco

Queen Amidala sat on her chair in her chambers in the Nubian cruiser, watching the audience that she had gathered. Captain Panaka and Qui-Gon were there, along with Obi-Wan and Jar Jar. And of course, several of her handmaidens.

Glancing momentarily at towards the door, Amidala saw the girl, Kagome, peeking her head around the corner. Amidala didn't mind; what they were speaking about wasn't confidential.

"As soon as we land," said Panaka insistently, "the Federation will arrest you and force you to sign the treaty."

"I agree," said Qui-Gon grimly. "I'm not sure what you wish to accomplish by this."

"I will take back what's ours," said Amidala firmly.

"There are too few of us, Your Highness. We have no army," said Panaka, trying to knock some sense into his queen's head.

"And I can only protect you," added Qui-Gon. "I can't fight a war for you."

Ignoring their pleadings, Amidala looked at the Gungan present in the room.

"Jar Jar Binks," she said.

"Mesa, Your Highness?" asked Jar Jar with disbelief, pointing at his chest.

Everyone in the room looked at Jar Jar with curiosity, wondering what the Queen wanted with the Gungan.

"Yes," said Amidala, "I need your help."

––Iccccccccccccco

Ric Olie and Captain Panaka were sitting in the cockpit, watching the monitors. Obi-Wan leaned over them, eyeing the monitors, as well.

"I have one battleship on my scope," said Ric Olie.

"It's a droid control ship," said Obi-Wan.

"They've probably spotted us," added Panaka.

Looking up, Obi-Wan said, "We haven't much time."

––Iccccccccccccco

The Nubian ship glided over the jungles of Naboo, looking for a place to land. The green of the trees below it reflected against its shiny exterior, giving it an emerald tint.

Seeing a small gap in the trees, Ric Olie decided to land the ship there. Carefully, he lowered it through the canopy, completely hiding it from the vision of anyone who might be watching. A flock of 'birds' flew up in alarm at the sight of the ship.

The queen had arrived on Naboo.

––Iccccccccccccco

"Jar Jar is on his way to the Gungan City, Master," said Obi-Wan, walking up to Qui-Gon.

"Good," said Qui-Gon, his mind returning to the present.

Everyone had successfully gotten off the ship, and Qui-Gon was currently standing away from everyone else, hands on his hips. Behind the two Jedi, Panaka's troops and the crew of the queen's ship walked back and forth in the small temporary camp that had been set up.

"Do you think the queen's idea will work?" asked Obi-Wan.

"The Gungans will not be easily swayed," said Qui-Gon, looking at his Padawan, "And we cannot use our power to help her (3)."

Obi-Wan was silent for a moment, looking indecisive.

Finally, he said, "I'm… I'm sorry for my behavior, Master. It's not my place to disagree with you about the boy."

Qui-Gon looked at his apprentice once more.

A small, hesitant smile lit on Obi-Wan's face as he added, "And I am grateful you think I'm ready to take the trials."

"You've been a good apprentice, Obi-Wan," said Qui-Gon, smiling. "And you're a much wiser man than I am. I foresee that you will become a great Jedi Knight."

––Iccccccccccccco

Jar Jar surfaced at the end of the swamp lake that hid the Gungan city of Otoh Gunga within its depths, grunting as he pulled himself ashore. Shaking himself vigorously of water, he made his way over to where Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Panaka were waiting for him in the fog. Several of Panaka's officers were waiting near the edge of the tree line, along with Amidala – who had changed her clothing yet again – and her handmaidens, who had also changed their clothes. Anakin and Kagome waited with the queen.

"Desa nobody dare!" said Jar Jar with astonishment. "The Gungan city is deserted. Some kinda fight, mesa tinks."

"Do you think that they have been taken to the camps?" asked Obi-Wan, looking at Qui-Gon.

"More likely they were wiped out," said Panaka.

"Mesa no tink so," said Jar Jar.

"Do you know where they are, Jar Jar?" asked Qui-Gon.

"When in trouble, Gungans go to sacred place (4). Mesa show you," said Jar Jar, walking off and gesturing for them to follow him. "Come on! Mesa show you!"

Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Panaka began to follow the Gungan, walking quickly in order to keep up with Jar Jar's lanky strides. Soon, everyone in the clearing had left to follow the determined Gungan to this so-called sacred place.

––Iccccccccccccco

The group of humans followed Captain Tarpals (5) of Otoh Gunga aboard his kaadu (6), along with several of his guards. Jar Jar led the pack, feeling uneasy as he watched the Gungan refugees stare at the newcomers.

Suddenly, Captain Tarpals stopped in a clearing covered in ancient ruins. Sitting atop one of the highest ruins – what appeared to be a half-buried giant head – was a large Gungan in fine clothing. Behind him stood a couple of other Gungan officials in nice robes, but none of them matched the first in girth of the waist.

"Your Honor," said Captain Tarpals, gesturing with his hand, "Queen Amidala of the Naboo."

Queen Amidala approached with a determined, no-nonsense face. Jar Jar stayed ahead of her.

Stopping, Jar Jar said, "Uh, h-heyo dadee, Big Boss Nass, Your Honor."

"Jar Jar Binks," said 'Boss Nass' in a loud, booming voice. "Who's da uss-en uthers?"

"I am Queen Amidala of the Naboo," said the queen. "I come before you in peace."

"Ah, Naboo biggen," said Boss Nass somewhat distastefully. "Yousa bringen da Mackineeks. Yousa all bombad."

"We have searched you out because we wish to form an alliance," said Amidala.

Suddenly, Padmé stepped forward saying, "Your Honor."

Boss Nass made a strange 'tsking' noise and said, "Whosa dis?"

Jar Jar drew himself up proudly, since Padmé was his friend.

"_I_ am Queen Amidala," said Padmé, making Jar Jar lose his composure.

R2, who had accompanied them, whistled. Anakin looked up at Padmé with a 'what?' type of expression, and Kagome's eyebrows had shot up as high as they could go.

Turning back to 'Queen Amidala' (7), Padmé said, "This is my decoy, my protection, my loyal bodyguard. I'm sorry for my deception, but it was necessary to protect myself."

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan gave each other knowing looks.

"Although we don't always agree, Your Honor," continued Padmé, "our two great societies have always lived in peace."

"Ah…" said Boss Nass, clasping his hands together at his large waist.

"The Trade Federation has destroyed all that we have worked so hard to build. If we do not act quickly, all will be lost forever. I ask you to help us. No, I beg you to help us," said Padmé, getting down on her knees. "We are your humble servants."

Realizing what Padmé was doing, everyone else in the group followed suit – Jar Jar took a while to do so, because he was confused.

"Our fate is in your hands," said Padmé.

"Mmm," said Boss Nass, rubbing what constituted as his chin thoughtfully.

The Gungan refugees, who had acted as an audience during the whole scene, watched with awe and surprise. Jar Jar whimpered, sure that he would die by Nass's hands this time. Padmé held her breath.

Boss Nass sighed and then said, "Ha!" before bursting out in laughter with his arms raised.

"Yousa no tinken yousa greater den da Gungans?" he said, chuckling. "Meeeesa lika dis! Maybe…wesa…bein' friends."

Then he shook his head vigorously, making blubbering sounds with his mouth. The Gungans burst out in cheers, and everyone in Padmé's group, including the young queen herself, broke out in smiles.

"Yippee! Yahoo!" cried Jar Jar, glad that his life was no longer at stake.

––Iccccccccccccco

Kagome observed as the Gungans busily ran around, getting prepared for the war they were about to fight. The Gungan children – the ones that had legs, that is (8) – watched curiously behind their mothers as their fathers began to ready for battle.

Anakin had run off somewhere, presumably with the two Jedi. Padmé was conversing with Boss Nass, her handmaidens in attendance. So Kagome was alone.

Hearing a strange sound down near her knees, Kagome looked down in surprise. She blinked at the strange creature that was looking up at her. It was small and tan, and walked on two legs like the Gungans. And like the Gungans, it had two eyes that protruded above its head on eyestalks. Its feet were somewhat similar, too.

But there the similarities to Gungans ended. Its body was short and round, and had two, interesting legs. They were skinny around the knees, but got thicker as they neared its large, round feet. Its arms did not resemble arms at all, but fins or flippers of some sort. Looking down at it, Kagome thought it was kind of cute.

"Um… Hello…" said Kagome, squatting down next to the little creature.

It blinked at her with dull curiosity, and Kagome wondered if it was even intelligent.

"Do you… Do you talk?" asked Kagome.

The creature opened its mouth, but the sounds that came out were not any language Kagome had ever heard. It didn't even _sound_ like a language. Perhaps it was some kind of creature that was kept as a pet?

Feeling unnerved by the amphibian creature's blank stare, Kagome stood.

"Um… I'm gonna go now. Bye…" she said, giving the creature a little wave.

She began to walk away from it, but froze when she heard pattering little footsteps following her.

"Huh?" she said, turning around and looking down.

The creature had followed her. Turning back around, Kagome walked forward a couple of steps. She heard the creature follow.

Kagome turned back to it and looked down at its blank but strangely curious eyes.

Suddenly, it lifted its flipper-like arms up at her. Kagome blinked; did it want to be picked up?

Bending down, Kagome carefully grasped it underneath its arms and picked it up. She marveled at the texture of its skin, which was slick yet bumpy at the same time. The creature closed its eyes contentedly when she cradled it in her arms.

Kagome noticed the somewhat dirty bandage wrapped around its right leg.

"Oh, are you hurt? Is that why you wanted to be picked up?" Kagome asked it.

The creature didn't answer, though it did make some kind of contented squeak.

Kagome looked down at it. What kind of being was it?

'_Jar Jar!_' Kagome realized. '_Jar Jar will know!_'

Looking around, Kagome's eyes searched for her Gungan friend amidst the other Gungans. It was almost dizzying trying to find him amongst the greens, purples, and oranges of the various other members of her friend's race.

Then she spotted him standing near Padmé's group of handmaidens. He too seemed to be listening to what the Queen was saying to Boss Nass.

Taking off at a hurried jog, Kagome dodged moving members of the Gungan race in order to get at him. Once she had reached him, she tapped on him.

"Psst! Hey, Jar Jar!" she said in a high whisper.

The Gungan looked around and then down at her. He jumped somewhat in surprise when he saw what she had in her arms.

Stepping away from the group of handmaidens, he said, "What's yousa doin' wit a Glurrg (9)?"

"A Glurrg? Is that what it is?" asked Kagome.

"Uh-huh," said Jar Jar.

"So, is it some kind of pet?" Kagome inquired.

"Oh nos! It's a workuh!" exclaimed Jar Jar.

"A worker?"

"They do lotsa stuffs! Buildin', harvestin', fishin', minin'…" said Jar Jar.

Kagome felt a sudden chill.

"You mean…" she said in a tiny voice, "they're _slaves_?"

Jar Jar gave another start and exclaimed, "Oh, no, no, nos! Desa lika doin' what desa do!"

"Why would you have a tiny little thing like this build stuff for you!" demanded Kagome angrily, gesturing at the 'Glurrg' in her arms.

"Dat one's a baby. Justa growin' its arms and legses, mesa tinks. Glurrgs are muy bigger than dat! Desa almost big as you!" said Jar Jar in his funny accent.

Then he leaned in closer and said quietly, as if he were speaking some secret, "Desa also don't hava many smarts."

"It's a baby? Then where's its mother?" asked Kagome, looking around as if expecting the mother Glurrg to pop out of nowhere, looking for its errant young.

"Maybe it doesn't hava one. Coulda died in the attack on da Gungan city. Desa sticks together, mostly," said Jar Jar, scratching an earflap in confusion.

"Then I'll take care of it! Thanks, Jar Jar!" beamed Kagome, before running off to find Anakin.

"For whats?" murmured Jar Jar, unaware that Kagome was thanking him for his information.

Kagome, meanwhile, was dodging and avoiding Gungans in the way, looking for Anakin at a run. The Glurrg in her arms didn't seem to mind the speed. In fact, it almost looked like it was enjoying it.

Spotting a familiar sandy-colored head, Kagome ran underneath the tail of a kaadu in order to get to it.

"Ani! Ani!" called Kagome, causing Anakin to turn.

"Yeah?" he said, turning away from the supplies that he was examining.

"Look what I found! Isn't it cute?" asked Kagome, grabbing the Glurrg under its arms and thrusting it out towards her little brother.

The Glurrg made Anakin's already somewhat disgusted face even more disgusted by sticking out its long tongue and zapping Anakin's cheek with it. Anakin wrinkled his nose when he felt the sticky barbs on the end of the Glurrg's tongue pull against his skin as it went back into the amphibian's mouth.

"See! He likes you!" said Kagome, laughing.

Rubbing his cheek, Anakin said, "Ugh! Where did you _get_ that thing!"

"It found me and wanted to be held," said Kagome simply, rubbing the Glurrg between its eyestalks.

Anakin gave the Glurrg a weird look as it gave a contented squeak at Kagome's ministrations.

"You should let it go, 'Gome," said Anakin.

"It's just a baby! Jar Jar said that its mother might have died in the attack on the Gungan city! It'll die!" said Kagome angrily.

"If Jar Jar knows about it, then I bet the other Gungans do, too. You should give it to one of them," said Anakin.

"No!" said Kagome stubbornly.

"You don't even know what it eats!" said Anakin, getting angry.

"I'll learn!" retaliated Kagome.

"You can't keep it, 'Gome! You can't bring it with us back to Coruscant, 'cause it'll die from leaving its natural environment!" said Anakin in a loud voice, attracting the attention of passersby.

"Ha! You mean when _you_ go back to Coruscant! _You're_ the one who's going to end up being a Jedi, _not_ me! They don't even want me, because I'm tainted goods (10)! So why should I even _bother_ going back!" said Kagome angrily, before storming off the direction she had come from.

The Glurrg made anxious sounds at her when it saw her eyes fill with tears. Kagome barely even noticed where she was going, because she was so upset and her vision was blurred from her tears.

Instinctively, she drew to a place that was away from the Gungan refugee camp, but not far enough away that she couldn't hear the commotion coming from it. She sat down behind a tree among some ferns, effectively hiding her from view.

Sniffling, Kagome tried to quell her tears. Not for the first time, she found herself jealous at the good fortune that Anakin had. Ani was the one that Watto had favored, because he was better than her at podracing. Ani could build cooler stuff from scrap, because he was better than her with machinery. And Ani was the one that seemed to show more promise at becoming a Jedi, probably because he was younger than she.

What was _she_ good at? Haggling, but that served no purpose out here. Foreseeing the outcome of every member in a podrace, but what good was that? Maybe she should have gone with Sebulba, because at least _then_ she had a purpose. Here, on the jungle-covered planet of Naboo, she was nothing but luggage.

Hearing a squeak from the Glurrg, Kagome looked down. Its blank eyes were looking curiously up at her again. She briefly wondered if it even understood how she was feeling at the moment.

"Un (yeah)," said Kagome, wiping away her tears. "We orphans have got to stick together, right?"

She realized another thing that Ani had and she didn't. A real mother. Yes, she was very thankful and happy that Shmi had taken care of her since she could remember, but Shmi wasn't related to her by blood. They weren't even of the same species. Because of that, Kagome couldn't help but wonder what her real mother had been like, or if she was even alive.

A chirp of curiosity came from the Glurrg, and Kagome peeked an eye open. To her indignation, she saw that the little creature was picking at its bandage.

"Oi (hey)! You'll only make it worse!" said Kagome, wondering how it even picked at its bandage without any fingers.

The Glurrg made an irritated sound, and Kagome rolled her teary eyes.

"Fine, fine. Let me look at it," she said, lifting up the creature's little leg and untying the bandage.

She took a sharp intake of breath when she saw the deep gash on the fleshy part of the Glurrg's lower leg. Some kind of strong-smelling ointment was spread over the wound, probably to prevent infection.

"Poor thing," murmured Kagome. "They should have stitched you up instead."

She retied the bandage, earning her something like a growl from the Glurrg.

"There's nothing I can do about it," Kagome told it firmly, closing her eyes and leaning back against the tree.

Her heart was still beating fast from her crying, and her breath came out in little gasps. Apparently, she hadn't cried out enough of her frustration.

She took a deep breath, pushing out her stomach. Then slowly, she breathed out through her mouth, sucking in her stomach. Over and over she repeated this process, clearing her mind as she did so. Shmi had taught her this exercise when she had been younger as a way to help control her anger.

Her brain receiving more oxygen than usual, Kagome reached a state of calm. She didn't open her eyes; instead, she reveled in the feeling of openness that her meditation gave her. Without vision, she could focus on the sounds and sensations around her.

She could hear the chatter of the Gungans back at the ruins, the sound of their kaadus moving. In the jungle, she could hear the rustle of leaves as unknown animals made their way through the underbrush. At the very top of the canopy, wind sighed through the branches, letting shafts of sunlight dance towards the ground. Far away was the sound of splashing from a mysterious water source; maybe an animal taking a swim?

Everything suddenly felt _alive_ to Kagome. Tiny voices seemed to whisper from the tree she leaned against, the ferns she sat amongst, even from within herself. She almost drew back from the voices in fear, because she didn't know what they were.

Unconsciously, she moved her hand to rest lightly over the Glurrg's bandages wound. It just seemed a more comfortable position than before. As she did so, tiny voices erupted underneath her hand, seeming to communicate with the one's emanating from her fingers and her palm. The voices joined together as one, echoing in her ears and mind.

They drew her onward, and Kagome followed them, her mind leaving her own body through her hand. It was a strange experience, to be aware of one's own body and yet not be connected, as she should have been.

The voices beckoned her into the wound of the Glurrg, and Kagome was suddenly aware of deep, throbbing pain. It made her wince, and she realized she was feeling what the Glurrg was feeling. She wanted the pain to go away, so that she and the Glurrg would feel better.

'_Heal,_' said the little voices, not with words, but pictures and sensations.

'_I don't know how,_' Kagome told them.

'_Connect. Open yourself,_' replied the voices.

Unsure what to do, Kagome reached out with her mind. Who was she supposed to connect with? The Glurrg? Or…the voices themselves? She decided on the voices.

A familiar sensation spread through her body, and Kagome realized where she had felt it before. It was back on Tatooine, when she had caused Sebulba to fly into a cart. Right before she had done so, she had instinctively clutched to some sort of connection. Then she had felt as if her entire soul had been exposed to the cosmos.

'_Good,_' said the tiny voices, as Kagome reached out and connected with them.

Kagome became aware of being miniscule, living inside a liquid world and helping every cell function properly. _This_ is what it must have felt like, back in the beginning, when there was nothing but microscopic life swimming in primordial soup.

'_You're midi-chlorians?_' Kagome asked the tiny voices, remembering the term from Qui-Gon.

'_Yes…and no._'

'_No?_'

'_We are the universe… We are life… We are…_everything_… We are not merely confined within the walls of others…_'

'_I…see,_' said Kagome uncertainly.

'_No, you do not. Not yet. Until you open yourself up to us, you will not,_' said the midi-chlorians.

'_How do I do that, then?_' Kagome asked.

'_Become one with us…and still remain yourself. To become one with us and not remain yourself is to lose yourself,_' said the midi-chlorians calmly.

Kagome hesitated, but the pain surrounding her helped her make her decision. Her mind reached out into the primordial world of the midi-chlorians, and she let any hesitation, doubt, and defense fall from her. She gasped when she suddenly felt the entire universe in work around her. She felt the birth of stars, and their dying after millions or billions of years of living. The sensation of planets forming and of them collapsing was exhilarating.

And among the universe, she could feel the work of something strange and unknown, similar to that of the midi-chlorians. It swirled around everything, but especially around living things. And even though there were tendrils of darkness among it, making it felt tainted somehow (11), it felt like pure joy.

She wanted to let herself go and live among this strange new world that she had discovered.

'_No,_' whispered the midi-chlorians. '_It's not your time yet._'

All at once, Kagome felt the familiar earthly tug and remembered that she still had a body. She was aware of herself lying against something hard, a tree. Her limbs were limp, because her mind was elsewhere. Her breath was slow and steady as if she were dreaming.

She remembered the pain of the Glurrg, and it all came crashing back on her. Withdrawing into the small amphibian again, she remained aware of the universe and her body at the same time. It was hard to do both, but the pain helped.

Now, with the mysterious power in the universe to help her, she was able to make the pain go away. A bright, blue light soothed the ache of the ripped muscles and tendons, and Kagome directed it to regenerate them. She felt the joy of the midi-chlorians as new homes were opened up to them among the new tissue, reproducing almost immediately (12) in order to carry out their jobs within each cell.

Breathing a sigh of relief at the loss of pain, Kagome's mind slowly drifted back into herself. Underneath her eyelids, she saw a blue light dim softly. Opening them, she saw tiny blue orbs still floating in the air, dissipating without a trace. Looking down at the Glurrg, she saw a certain relief in its eyes.

Kagome lifted her hand from the Glurrg's bandage. Hands trembling, she managed to untie the bandage.

She gasped when she saw the smooth, unblemished skin of the Glurrg's leg. There wasn't any trace that there had been gash there earlier.

"Did…did _I_ do that?" she said.

Suddenly, the Glurrg jumped up from her lap and took off running towards the Gungan refugee camp.

"H-hey! Wait for me!" Kagome called, scrambling to her feet.

She reeled for a second; her limbs felt oddly heavy and clumsy. Clenching and unclenching her hand, she felt like she needed to learn how to move her body again.

Hearing the Glurrg, she dashed off in the direction she heard it running. She suddenly emerged into the camp, nearly falling over onto her face when she almost ran into someone.

"S-sorry," she told the Gungan that she had almost crashed into.

Looking around for the Glurrg, she spotted it running towards a group of Gungan children. The children exclaimed when they saw it, picking it up and marveling at its disappeared injury. The Glurrg soaked in the attention, closing its eyes contentedly as it was passed around and held by each child.

"So much for gratitude," Kagome grumbled, not really feeling upset; the Glurrg seemed to be feeling better, after all.

Ducking underneath another kaadu, she tried to get used to her body again. It felt so heavy, and yet…there was something there that hadn't been there before. The way she viewed everything was different somehow, but she couldn't quite put her finger on _why_ it seemed different.

Maneuvering herself around a ground of Gungans, Kagome spotted her little brother, who was still looking at the supplies.

"Hey, Ani!" said Kagome.

Anakin turned around, startled to find his sister back so quickly. He expected an angry lecture from her, but blinked in confusion when he saw that her face was practically glowing with happiness.

"Uh, hey, 'Gome. Look, about a few minutes ago–" he began.

"Aw, that's alright. I forgive you, and I'm sorry, too. Bye now!" said Kagome, ruffling his hair affectionately and then walking off as suddenly as she had appeared.

"What…?" said Anakin, his head spinning with confusion.

Frowning, he scratched his head while he tried to figure out what had just happened.

"Ani," came Qui-Gon's voice.

Anakin looked up and saw the two Jedi approaching, Qui-Gon walking in long strides with his Padawan in tow.

"Yes, Qui-Gon, sir?" asked Anakin, sounding really confused, due to his previous conversation with Kagome.

"We'll be heading out in a couple of minutes. Could you get Kagome and then come find me?" asked Qui-Gon.

Anakin nodded, and Qui-Gon left to speak with Padmé. Obi-Wan followed his master patiently.

Growling in frustration, Anakin scratched his head again. If only Kagome had stuck around for a few more seconds! Looking around, Anakin couldn't see her anywhere. She had practically vanished into thin air.

'_Girls are weird,_' he thought with exasperation, beginning his hunt (13).

_**End**_

––Iccccccccccccco

**Author's Notes**

(1) Sounds a lot like mitochondria, no?

(2) Nal Hutta was the capital of Hutt space, and was taken over by the Hutts when their homeworld, Varl, became uninhabitable around 15,000 BBY. Varl became barren due to one of its suns (Evona) getting sucked into a black hole and the other (Ardos) expelled its external gas layers, stripping Varl of its atmosphere.

(3) Funny, you didn't seem to think that it wasn't bad to manipulate Boss Nass's mind when you got him to give you a submarine last time, Qui-Gon. -_-;

(4) The sacred place held a bunch of scattered ruins, built by the 'Elders'. If you are a _Stargate_ fan, or have watched _Stargate_, then the Elders are a lot like the 'Ancients'. Daniel Jackson rulez! Just had to put that out there… ^.^;

(5) Roos Tarpals was once the leader of a band of thieves in Otoh Gunga. He eventually met Jar Jar, and they became friends. However, when Tarpals became captain of the Gungan army, he was the one that was forced to make sure that Jar Jar went into banishment.

(6) Kaadu are reptile-like waterfowl that the Gungans domesticated as mounts. They can run _and_ swim fast, but how they stay upright without arms to help them up is beyond me. What's happens if they fall over?

(7) Did you know that the Queen's double, called Sabé, was actually played by Keira Knightley? When Keira (age 14) was put into the Queen's costume (which hid her true height), she and Natalie Portman were indistinguishable, even to Portman's own mother.

(8) Look up 'Glurrg' on starwars . wikia . com. Yes, it is a branch-off of Wikipedia, notorious for being a liar, but seriously, who's going to make shit up about Star Wars? Either you'd have to be really dumb, or you have too much time on your hands. I'd go for the former.

(9) Gungan infants look a lot like tadpoles, having no legs. Therefore, they are placed in collective pools during their 'preschool' years until they sprout legs.

(10) The reason that Force-sensitive children are taken to the Jedi Temple at a very early age is so that they have had either no or very little outside influence. All their habits, teachings, and beliefs will then have come from the Temple. Kagome, however, is old enough that she has had much influence on her personality, making her 'tainted', as she says.

(11) This is due to the influence of the Sith. The Jedi Order believes that by destroying the Sith, balance will come to the Force, and bring it back to its original state.

(12) Bow chika wow wow! Just kidding.

(13) The hunt for Red October! Had to put that in there. Sean Connery doesn't even sound Russian in that movie. When he was in the _Highlander_, he was supposed to be a Spaniard. Right… A Spaniard with a Scottish accent. Sure ya are…

––Iccccccccccccco

Here you ares! Hopin' yousa lika it! Remembers, read and'a reviews!

Until next time, ja ne! ^.^


	8. Chapter VIII: Duel of the Fates

Chapter Eight is up! Joy to the world!

Disclaimer: Don't own Star Wars or InuYasha, because if I say I do, George Lucas's personal bounty hunters will hunt me down and kill me.

"speaking"

'_thinking_'

**Ages:**

Darth Maul – 22

**Chapter VIII: Duel of the Fates**

––Iccccccccccccco

"_Fear. Fear attracts the fearful…the strong…the weak…the innocent…the corrupt. Fear. Fear is my ally._"

~ Darth Maul

––Iccccccccccccco

Viceroy Nute Gunray – who was a Neimoidian – of the Trade Federation sat in the throne room of the Theed Royal Palace, watching a hologram of a cloaked man. On one side stood his Settlement Officer and lieutenant, Rune Haako – also a Neimoidian – who always stood in a stooped posture. But on the other side stood the Zabrak, clothed in a black robe with his hood up.

"We've sent out patrols," said Nute Gunray to the hologram. "We've already located their starship in the swamp. It won't be long, my lord."

The hologram, which was that of an older – possibly elderly – cloaked man, sighed and spoke.

"This is an unexpected move for her," said the older man, speaking of Amidala. "It's too aggressive."

Then he spoke to the Zabrak.

"Lord Maul," he added, "be mindful. Let them make the first move."

"Yes, my Master," said 'Lord Maul' – who was known as Darth Maul – obediently.

––Iccccccccccccco

Up on another half-buried head, this time in a more open, plain-like area, a Gungan sentry sat, holding a pair of somewhat archaic electrobinoculars. But apparently they worked well enough, because the sentry soon spotted the returning Captain Panaka and his guards in their cruisers.

"Deysa comin'!" the sentry shouted down to Anakin, who was acting as the messenger boy.

"All right!" said Anakin excitedly, before dashing back towards the tree line.

As soon as he reached the edge of the jungle, he cried, "They're here!" to Padmé and the others that were waiting there beside yet another cruiser.

"Good," said Padmé. "They made it."

Three cruisers flew past, but only one stopped near where the newly-revealed Queen of Naboo and her entourage were waiting.

As the cruiser stopped, Boss Nass began walking with Jar Jar, his chubby arm wrapped around the lankier Gungan's shoulders.

"Yousa doin' grand," praised Boss Nass.

Jar Jar laughed in a way that said that he didn't believe it.

"Jar Jar bring uss-en and da Naboo together," continued Boss Nass.

"Oh, no, no, no," said Jar Jar, waving his hand dismissively; he didn't seem to want any credit at all.

Before he could explain anything, Boss Nass said, "So, we make you bombad general."

"General?" gasped Jar Jar in shock, before promptly passing out on the ground.

Hearing Qui-Gon greet Panaka, the leader of Otoh Gunga laughed boisterously and let Jar Jar lay where he was, before walking over to where everyone was meeting.

Panaka walked up to Padmé and said, "Your Highness."

"What is the situation?" asked the Queen.

"Almost everyone's in camps," Panaka reported. "A few hundred police and guards have formed an underground resistance movement. I brought back as many of the leaders as I could. The Federation army's also much larger than we thought, and much stronger."

Then he took on an urgent tone and continued, "Your Highness, this is a battle I do not think that we can win."

"The battle is a diversion," said Padmé, giving Panaka a 'do-you-think-I'm-stupid' type of look, "The Gungans must draw the droid army away from the cities. R2."

The little astro droid beeped in acknowledgement and began showing a holographic image of the capital city of Theed over the top of the cruiser.

"We can enter the city using the secret passages on the waterfall side," explained Padmé. "Once we get to the main entrance, Captain Panaka will create a diversion. Then we can enter the palace and capture the viceroy. Without the viceroy, they will be lost and confused."

Turning to Qui-Gon, she asked, "What do you think, Master Jedi?"

As R2 turned off the hologram, Qui-Gon said, "The viceroy will be well-guarded."

"The difficulty is getting into the throne room," spoke up Panaka. "Once we're inside, we shouldn't have a problem."

"There is a possibility, with this diversion, many Gungans will be killed," said Qui-Gon, looking pointedly at Boss Nass.

"Wesa ready to do our-san part," said the large Gungan proudly, hitting himself lightly on the chest with his fist.

"We have a plan which should immobilize the droid army," continued Padmé. "We will send what pilots we have to knock out the droid control ship orbiting the planet."

Obi-Wan glanced at his master, wondering what Qui-Gon would think of it.

"A well-conceived plan," said Qui-Gon. "However, there's great risk. The weapons on your fighters may not penetrate the shields."

"And there an even bigger danger," spoke up Obi-Wan. "If the viceroy escapes, Your Highness, he will return with another droid army."

"Well, that is why we must not fail to get the viceroy," said Padmé sternly. "Everything depends on it."

Everyone was silent except for R2, who beeped mournfully. Anakin and Kagome, who were standing next to the little droid, kept looking back and forth between the suddenly serious and silent adults.

'_Whoever this viceroy is,_' thought Kagome, '_I hope Padmé gives him a good kick in the behind (1)._'

––Iccccccccccccco

"She is more foolish than I thought," said the cloaked old man, his form bouncing from side to side due to his hologram riding on some kind of walking, mechanical spider.

"We are sending all troops to meet this army assembling near the swamp," said Nute Gunray, following the walking spider. "It appears to be made up of primitives."

"This will work to our advantage," said the cloaked man, sounding pleased.

The mechanical spider stopped, and its followers, the two Neimoidians and Darth Maul, paused.

"I have your approval to proceed, then, my lord?" asked Nute Gunray expectantly.

"Wipe them out," ordered the cloak man, "_All of them_."

––Iccccccccccccco

"Is Padmé your real name?"

Padmé turned around with surprise, only to find a suspicious and skeptical-looking Kagome looked up at her.

Everyone was starting to pack up in order to start the mission, and Kagome had finally gotten Padmé alone. Anakin was nowhere to be seen, and the two Jedi were speaking with Boss Nass and Jar Jar.

"What?" asked the young queen, smiling a little.

"I said," continued Kagome, "is Padmé your real name?"

"It is," said Padmé. "I took on the name Padmé Amidala when I became the queen of Naboo. But I was born Padmé Naberrie."

"Oh…" said Kagome, looking at her feet.

The younger girl remained silent, though she chewed on her lower lip in an almost nervous fashion.

"Was there something you wanted to talk about, Kagome?" asked Padmé, leaning down and looking into Kagome's face.

"I…" began Kagome hesitantly.

Then she looked up and blurted out, "Can I become one of your handmaidens?"

Padmé blinked, surprised. That was the last thing she had expected to come out of the younger girl's mouth.

"You…want to become a handmaiden?" she asked in confusion.

Kagome lowered her eyes and nodded.

"But what about you becoming a Jedi?"

"They don't want me," said Kagome mournfully; Padmé's heart twinged at the sorrow in her voice.

"Why not?" asked Padmé gently.

"I'm too old. They only want Ani," said Kagome shakily.

Padmé frowned; was the girl trying not to cry?

"Well," said Padmé, "did the Jedi Council _tell_ you that they didn't want you?"

"N-no," said Kagome, suddenly wiping at her eyes.

"Then you shouldn't give up hope quite yet," said Padmé, putting her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Okay?"

"Mmm-hmm," said Kagome, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve.

She looked up at Padmé, and the older girl saw that her suspicions had been correct; Kagome had started crying.

Giving a quick smile, Kagome said, "I try not to cry in front of other people, especially Ani. Did you know, that when he was little, he'd start crying whenever I did?"

Padmé laughed and said, "Really?"

"Yeah," said Kagome, "but don't tell him I said that. He doesn't like me telling people stuff about him without his permission…even though he's a blabbermouth when it comes to me."

"Okay, I won't tell," promised Padmé, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Thanks, Padmé," said Kagome, before promptly enveloping the older girl in a bear hug.

Padmé stumbled backwards somewhat with surprise, before hugging the girl back. She knew that Kagome wasn't thanking her for not telling, but for giving her hope that she would be accepted into the Jedi Order. Maybe it was both.

Kagome let go of Padmé and said, "I should probably go find Ani, to make sure he hasn't fallen in a hole or something."

Padmé smiled and said, "Okay, Kagome."

Kagome gave a small smile and waved at the queen before running off. Padmé smiled somewhat and made her way over to the Jedi and Boss Nass.

––Iccccccccccccco

Out of the mists of the swamps of Naboo, the Gungan Grand Army moved in union towards the open plains, sentries blowing on their war horns. Some walked on foot, while others rode kaadus as a cavalry. Others guided large quadruped amphibians known as fambaas along with the rest of the army in pairs of two; they acted as carriers for the large shield generators.

At the front of the army, Captain Roos Tarpals (2), along with Jar Jar and several lower-ranking officers, lead the way among the hilly plains.

"Halt!" commanded Tarpals, putting up his hand and reining his kaadu to a stop.

Jar Jar put up his hand, as well, though it was totally unnecessary; even if he was the bombad general of the army now, everyone knew who was really in charge, and that was Tarpals.

"Starting up the shield," stated Tarpals loudly, looking back at the Gungans riding on top of the fambaas.

Hearing him speak, said Gungans pressed the heels of their palms against a large button on each of their shield generators. The generator on each front fambaa shot out a blue, plasma-like energy, which connected to the large dish on the fambaa directly behind it. This dish deflected the generator's beam to spread upwards and down over the entire Gungan army, protecting it from weapons blast.

As the shield lowered to the ground with a hiss of static, a low rumbling sound was heard over the hill in front of the army. As the Federation's tanks and transports began to crest the hill, a loud whirring caused by their motors could be heard echoing through the plains.

Once the tanks had reached a safe distance from the waiting Gungan army, they stopped on the slope of the hill, the transports waiting behind them. From here, they could also fire on the opposing enemy.

OOM-9, the command battle droid in charge of the invasion of Naboo, surveyed the Gungans through electrobinoculars.

He turned to the tank next to the one he rode, and made a downwards pumping motion, ordering, "Open fire."

The tank and the others surrounding the battle droid shot cannon fire at the Gungans, only to be met with the sounds of 'ping ping' and explosions as their shots hit the Gungan shield.

––Iccccccccccccco

The young Queen of Naboo ran swiftly towards the corner of a building, making sure she stayed out of sight of the battle droids guarding the Central Plaza of Theed. Behind her followed Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Kagome, Anakin, R2, and a couple of her handmaidens and Panaka's officers, keeping pace.

Peeking around the corner, Padmé quickly blinked a reddish laser light across the Plaza, signaling to Captain Panaka across the way. A blue blinking laser answered her, showing that the captain was there and ready to act on what they had planned. Panaka waved, gesturing for Padmé's team that it was safe to continue.

Qui-Gon knelt down beside Kagome and Anakin, placing his hands on their shoulders.

"Once we get inside, you two must find a safe place to hide and stay there," he said quietly.

"Sure," said Anakin quickly and unconvincingly, earning him an elbow in the ribs and a glare from Kagome.

"Stay there," ordered Qui-Gon, holding up a finger.

Then he gave them a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, before standing and returning to his previous position.

One of the queen's cruisers stopped by one of the entrances to the Plaza, followed by several of Panaka's troops and members of the underground resistance. They knelt down, holding their guns at the ready in preparation for what was about to happen.

The cannon on top of the cruiser aimed and fired at the tank sitting in the square, resulting in a large explosion. Battle droids ran about, emitting confused, electronic sounds. The ones that hadn't been caught in the blast began to shoot at the ones responsible for their ruined tank.

With the battle droids occupied, Padmé made a dash across the Plaza. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan activated their lightsabers with a hum, getting ready to destroy any droids that tried to harm the queen. Anakin and Kagome followed quickly behind, watching wide-eyed at the battle going on in front of them. R2 went after them at a much slower pace, while the handmaidens and troops quickly followed their queen.

Once outside the Theed Hangar doors, Padmé went to the control panel that allowed it to open. She quickly gained access to the system, the doors opening almost immediately. With the doors now open, she and her companions slipped inside, while Panaka and his group made their escape along with them.

But the battle wasn't over yet, as they soon discovered as they opened the main hangar doors. There were more battle droids on the inside, guarding the Naboo N-1 Starfighters that were vital for the Queen's plan to work. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan took to the front, using their lightsabers to deflect the weapons blast from the battle droids.

"Ani, Kagome, find cover!" ordered Qui-Gon urgently, dodging blasts from the battle droids' weapons.

Anakin and Kagome stared at him for a moment, before rushing off to find somewhere to hide.

"Quick!" called Qui-Gon.

"Get to your ships!" yelled Padmé in her 'Amidala' voice.

Ducking, the pilots made their way quickly through the hangar to each of their Naboo fighter craft.

Kagome and Anakin, meanwhile, were hiding behind a casing of some kind. They grimaced and hid their eyes as a stray droid blast hit above them, showering them with sparks.

Suddenly, Kagome dashed off towards a grey, metal bin, which turned out to be some sort of locker or storage chest of some kind. She opened the door, and winced when a blast hit the chest full on. Peeking out from behind her hands, she saw that the blast had hardly harmed the chest at all.

"Are you crazy!" demanded Anakin, when he saw what she was about to do.

"Got a better idea, genius?" asked Kagome angrily, before hopping into the locker and closing its door behind her.

Anakin growled and hunkered down once more, looking for a spot to hide. The pilots, meanwhile, were getting into their cockpits with their loyal astro droids and taking off out of the hangar. Pilots that didn't make it to a Starfighter in time were shot down.

R2, meanwhile, got caught as he went underneath one the before-mentioned craft, now a 'loyal astro droid' for whoever got into the cockpit. He whistled at Anakin, showing the boy that there was a place to hide.

Seeing that now was his chance, Anakin scrambled for the stairs leading to the cockpit of the last fighter. He squinted and grimaced as weapons fire hit all around him, but he managed to get into the cockpit without being harmed.

'_It's definitely a better idea,_' he thought, looking around at the controls in the interior of the cockpit.

The last of the occupied fighter craft powered up and left the hangar, while Padmé, the Jedi, and the rest continued to finish off the remaining battle droids.

––Iccccccccccccco

The first wave of N-1 Starfighters that had managed to make it from the Hangar soon left Naboo's atmosphere, heading for the droid control ship orbiting the planet. The sleek fighters passed Ohma-D'un, the largest moon in orbit around the jungle-covered planet, and headed straight for the droid control ship beyond it.

Seeing the attack, the droid control attack sent out fighters of their own, vastly outnumbering the few that had been launched from the Theed Hangar.

Ric Olie, who was piloting one of the N-1 Starfighters, stated, "Fighters straight ahead."

"Roger, Bravo Leader," acknowledged another of the pilots, a dark-skinned man known as Bravo Three.

"Roger, Bravo Leader," answered a female pilot, Bravo Two.

The two forces collided in a barrage of weapons fire and explosions as the Naboo pilots started to take out the droid control ship fighters coming toward them.

––Iccccccccccccco

OOM-9 watched through his electrobinoculars, seeing that the blasts (3) from the Trade Federation's tanks did nothing to harm or even get to the opposing Gungan army.

"Cease fire," he ordered, turning to the tank nearest to him.

A few more shots rang out, and then the force shield surrounding the Gungans rippled no more. The Gungans inside murmured amongst themselves, wondering what was going to happen now.

"Steady. Steady," said Jar Jar, making a calming motion behind him as the warriors began to fidget restlessly.

Outside of the shield, a loud 'clang' was heard as the fronts of the huge transports opened. From inside of each of the transports, a rack of folded-up battle droids slid out and began placing the droids in lines on the ground.

Anticipating the battle that was about to ensue, the Militiagungs (4) - who were not riding kaadus - activated their personal shields (5). Gungans began placing large boomas in the catapult nests, readying them for instant use. All the while, the Gungans waited for any sign of movement from the crouching droids.

They didn't have to wait long. As one, each of the droids rose into a standing position with a whirring sound. Their heads rose, and as soon has they were fully powered on, they reached behind them for the weapons strapped to their backs. Then they turned on their 'heels' and faced forward toward the shield and the Gungans waiting beyond it.

Captain Tarpals noticeably gulped and turned towards Jar Jar, saying, "Ouch time."

Moving in unison, the battle droids marched towards the Gungan shield. The first line of droids stepped through the shield as if it were there, and began firing on the Gungans.

The Battle of Grassy Plains had begun.

––Iccccccccccccco

Padmé and her companions had successfully destroyed all of the battle droids in the Hangar.

Turning to Panaka, Padmé said, "My guess is that the Viceroy is in the throne room."

Panaka nodded and said, waving his blaster towards the Hangar doors, "Red group! Blue group! Everybody, this way!"

"Hey, wait for me!" said Anakin loudly, standing up in the cockpit of 'his' N-1 Starfighter.

On cue, Kagome opened up the door of the locker she was in and peeked out to see if the coast was clear. Apparently, she hadn't shut it all the way so that she could get back out.

"Anakin, stay where you are. You'll be safe there," said Qui-Gon to the boy.

"But I–" protested Anakin.

"Stay in that cockpit," ordered Qui-Gon, pointing at Anakin.

He spotted Kagome's head poking out of the locker and said, "The same goes for you too, Kagome."

"Alright," said Kagome dejectedly, sitting back down in the floor of the locker and swinging the door closed behind her once more.

As Padmé, Captain Panaka, and the others neared the hangar door, it slid open suddenly. Panaka and the queen drew to an abrupt halt, weapons at the ready, when they saw a black-cloaked figure waiting for them on the other side.

The figure looked up at them out of the depths of their hood, revealing Darth Maul's Sith-tattooed face.

"We'll handle this," said Qui-Gon grimly, maneuvering himself forward through Panaka's guards.

Hefting up her blaster, Padmé turned and said, "We'll take the long way."

The two groups, Red and Blue, rushed off to the side doors in the hangar. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan remained, moving forward to meet their new enemy.

On cue, Darth Maul removed his hood, revealing his Zabrak horns and his bright yellow eyes. The two Jedi removed their robes, so that they soon stood in their overtunics. The Zabrak did the same.

R2 beeped, and Anakin turned his head to see three droidekas roll into the Hangar. Once they were in an upright position, the droidekas activated their personal shields and began shooting at the fleeing queen and her companions. Padmé had no choice but to hide herself and fight the new droids.

Seeing that the others were cornered, Anakin said, "We gotta do something, R2."

Meanwhile, Darth Maul activated his saberstaff (6), two red beams of light emerging from either end of the supposed-hilt. In retaliation, Qui-Gon activated his green lightsaber, while Obi-Wan activated his blue one.

Growling under his breath, Darth Maul attacked. Obi-Wan moved next, flipping over the Zabrak, aiming to get a hit on Darth Maul's back. But that didn't slow Darth Maul down at all, who seemed to find fighting two Jedi par on par quite easy.

Padmé and Panaka, along with the handmaidens and officers, were not having much luck at destroying the droidekas. The personal shields surrounding the droids protected them from any harm, and the blaster weapons had no effect whatsoever. It was Padmé and the others that were taking a beating, not the droids.

Beeping urgently, R2 tried to get Anakin to move faster.

"I'm trying to!" answered the boy," I don't know where the trigger is!"

Spotting a 'likely' button, he pushed it. The button flashed green, as did the console. In response to the button, the Starfighter lifted off the ground of the hangar and began to move forward.

Looking around, Anakin said, "Oops, wrong one. Maybe it's this one."

He pulled down a lever, which caused the cockpit to close over his head. Several more of the ships systems booted up.

"Nope. Wait. Here it is," said Anakin, pulling out something that was obviously used for weapons fire (7).

The fighter began to turn towards the entrance, nearing the droidekas. Taking this chance, Anakin began firing at the droids.

"Yeah!" he cried, when he saw one of the droidekas fall apart from his firing.

He aimed at the remaining droidekas. Their shields were no match for the cannons on the Starfighter, and they blasted apart in a matter of seconds.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Padmé got out of hiding and said, "Let's go!"

She and the others quickly fled through a side door, entering the interior of the palace.

Anakin, meanwhile, had already realized that he was trouble, once he had spotted that the Naboo fighter was on automatic pilot. He was already on his way up towards the droid control ship, his ship avoiding the blasts of a nearby tank.

"Try to override it," he told R2, who beeped in acknowledgement.

––Iccccccccccccco

Kagome bit the fleshy part of her palm as she watched the Jedi fight through a small hole in the side of the locker. Her teeth clamped down harder and harder as the fighting continued, and as they neared her hiding place.

She had squeezed her body into a small ball into one of the corners of the locker, not daring to make a sound. If she made a sound, then that _being_ would hear her, and kill her.

On Tatooine, she hadn't noticed it at all, but once he had made his presence known here in Theed, Kagome had felt a terrible, dark vibe surrounding everything the Zabrak touched. Maybe it was because she was more aware of how things were connected around her, or because she had spoken to the midi-chlorians, but she knew that this tattooed figure that was now fighting the Jedi was very, very bad.

'_Is this what a Sith is? A person with all of this darkness?_' thought Kagome, squeezing her eyes shut and recoiling at the sensation the Zabrak put off.

She tried to block out the sound of the lightsabers clashing, and of the midi-chlorians within the Zabrak screaming in agony. In response to the mental screaming, Kagome clapped her hands over her ears instinctively. But it didn't help her at all; the midi-chlorians didn't use her ears to be heard, after all.

'_Stop! Stop! Stop!_' Kagome chanted in her head, trying to get them to go away.

But they only pleaded with her to help them, to kill them. It agonized Kagome so much that tears began to roll down her cheeks, and she didn't even notice as she shared the midi-chlorian's pain.

Whimpering softly, Kagome curled up in a tight ball on floor of the locker. She trembled as she felt the midi-chlorian's pain wrench through her body in images and physical feelings. Like back in the jungle, she tried to disconnect herself from them, but they seemed to be the ones that had connected with her. _And they wouldn't let go._

She slowly became aware of the sensation lessening, and found that the sound of the lightsabers had grown distant. The Jedi and the dark being had apparently taken their battle elsewhere. The far-off sound of weapons blast could be heard also, perhaps from above.

The aftereffects of experiencing the tortured midi-chlorians caused nausea to sweep through Kagome's body. Shaking, she pulled herself up into a sitting position, holding her aching head in her hands.

Tentatively, she reached out to the midi-chlorians residing within her. She was unsure if she was doing it right at first, but knew she had done it correctly when she felt them and her connect.

'_Why… Why were they in pain?_' Kagome asked them.

'_They have been forced to connect to the darkness. Darkness is not supposed to exist,_' stated the midi-chlorians within her.

Kagome nodded in understanding; the Zabrak's midi-chlorians were being forced to connect with everything in an unnatural way. They were being misused.

'_I see,_' said Kagome, disconnecting herself from them.

Pulling her legs up against her chest, Kagome buried her face in her knees. She continued to shake as she wrapped her arms around her legs, gripping her calves to control it.

She was alone. Padmé, Captain Panaka, the handmaidens, and the other troops had gone further into the royal palace. Right now, they would be fighting the battle droids guarding the way into the throne room. Jar Jar, whom she had wished good luck before leaving, was with the Gungan Grand Army. He would be fighting the battle droids that had been drawn away from Theed.

The Jedi were who-knows-where, battling the Zabrak, the user of darkness. She could still hear the sound of their lightsabers clashing. Even Ani had gone into battle, taking off into space to help the pilots that had risked their lives to make it into the N-1 Starfighters and up into the sky. And what was she doing? Sitting in a metal box, hiding.

'_I feel so useless,_' thought Kagome sadly.

Now that she thought about it, what _could_ she do? She couldn't fly as well as Anakin, or use a blaster. She couldn't use a lightsaber, either.

'_I could be bait,_' she thought, snickering quietly as she pictured herself tied to string attached to a stick, hanging over the cage of some monstrous creature.

Her momentary humor didn't last long, as depression settled on her. She peeked up from where her head was buried in her knees, blinking at the darkness in front of her. The only light came from the tiny hole in the side, and the crack that was from the door not being entirely closed.

As Kagome continued to stare into the darkness, her vision suddenly filled with light.

_Qui-Gon was fighting the Zabrak in an intense battle in a small, circular room, a giant pit in the center. Obi-Wan was nowhere to be seen. The Zabrak fought with great ferocity, making Qui-Gon strain in order to catch up. _

_Sending a fast parry of blows, the Zabrak tricked Qui-Gon to do a downwards sweep of his lightsaber, whereupon he hit the Jedi in the face with the hilt of his saberstaff. While Qui-Gon was momentarily taken off guard, the Zabrak shoved one end of his sabarstaff through the Jedi's stomach._

"_NO!"_

_Obi-Wan could be seen screaming through a film of red…_

_The scene had changed. Obi-Wan was fighting the Zabrak, the dark being's back to a sheen of red. The Zabrak's weapon had been cut in two, but he still fought with as much ferocity as before. _

_Obi-Wan grated his lightsaber against the Zabrak's, trying to force him backwards. Then the Zabrak shoved him backwards, taking Obi-Wan by surprise. Using the Force, the Zabrak then caused Obi-Wan to fly backwards and into the pit. The Padawan managed to catch a nozzle sticking out of the side, barely holding on._

_The Zabrak walked over to the edge of the pit, and noticed Obi-Wan's deactivated lightsaber near his foot. He kicked it over the side, never to be seen again…_

Kagome suddenly saw darkness again, and instantly became disorientated.

"What the–!" she said, abruptly standing up.

Unfortunately, she forgot that she was sitting in a metal box, and consequently hit her head on the roof (8).

"Itai (ouch)!" cried Kagome, clutching her head and falling over.

She also unfortunately fell against the door of the locker, and fell out of it. Hitting the floor hard, Kagome lay in a dazed heap for a few seconds.

"Ohhhhh," she groaned, holding the developing goose-egg on her head. "Where'm I? What _was_ that?"

Confused, she looked around and saw that she was in the Theed Hangar. Luckily for her, no battle droids of any kind had occupied it yet, so she was currently alone.

"That's right! Qui-Gon-san! Obi-Wan-san! I have to warn them!" cried Kagome, bolting upright.

Feeling the room spin around her, she plopped back down on her behind, clutching her temples.

"If I don't die of a concussion first," she moaned, feeling her head pound.

Waiting for the vertigo go away, Kagome contemplated for a moment. _Should_ she really leave the hangar? Whatever she had just experienced, it couldn't be real, right? And she certainly didn't want to go near that tattooed man again, and hear his screaming midi-chlorians.

But what if it _had_ been some sort of vision? Perhaps she should watch to see if what she had seen was about to come to pass, and then warn them. Then again, Qui-Gon had said to stay in the hangar and hide.

Growling in frustration, Kagome stood up – this time slowly – and looked around to see where the Jedi had gone. Seeing an open door, which led to some sort of generator complex, Kagome made a wobbly dash for it. She nodded when she heard the faint sounds of lightsabers at its entrance.

"Since when did I listen to anyone, anyway?" she muttered, entering the complex.

––Iccccccccccccco

Obi-Wan jumped up onto the catwalk his master and Darth Maul were currently dueling on. He saw that Qui-Gon had cornered the Zabrak at the end of the catwalk, nearing a narrow hallway guarded by red electron gates.

Just as the two fighters reached the first gate, all of them hissed open. Qui-Gon continued to fight Darth Maul, even though the gates were about to turn back on any minute. From behind, Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber and ran towards the narrow hallway.

The gates turned on one by one, trapping Qui-Gon and Darth Maul. Obi-Wan skidded to a halt when one of the shield-gates went up in his face.

Looking up at the humming, red shield separating him and Qui-Gon, the Zabrak tapped it with the end of his lightsaber. The gate hissed at the contact, indicating that actually touching it could be quite deadly. Seeing that there was nothing to do but wait, Darth Maul deactivated his lightsaber.

Qui-Gon got down on his knees in a meditative posture, while Obi-Wan deactivated his own lightsaber. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Qui-Gon meditated while the Zabrak paced back and forth in front of him. Obi-Wan waited anxiously at the beginning of the hallway, wanting to help his master. (9)

Nearly a minute went by, and the gates gave no sign of opening. Suddenly, Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber, and the gates began to open. Hearing the shield deactivate, Qui-Gon's eyes opened and he immediately began parrying with Darth Maul again.

As soon as all of the gates opened, Obi-Wan made a dash for the other side. He was just before where the last gate would appear when it activated again, separating him from the fight. Panting, he watched his master fight the Sith Lord.

It soon became apparent that Qui-Gon was slowing against the fierceness of Darth Maul's attacks. Obi-Wan watched with growing worry and anxiety as his master was forced back towards the wall, going away from the melting pit in the middle of the floor.

Qui-Gon made a downward slashing motion, which the Zabrak took advantage of by hitting him on the chin with the hilt of his lightsaber. Qui-Gon grunted in pain, taken off guard, and gasped when Darth Maul shoved his lightsaber through his stomach.

"NO!" shouted Obi-Wan, seeing his master get impaled.

Qui-Gon slumped to his knees once Darth Maul had removed his lightsaber, his face in shock. Unable to do anything else, he fell limply to the floor.

Whipping around, Darth Maul turned to face his next opponent. Obi-Wan continued to watch his master, who was still alive, but clearly dying. He breathed hard through his nose, and swallowed when he looked up at the Zabrak on the other side of the gate.

Darth Maul began to pace.

––Iccccccccccccco

Escorted by a squadron of battle droids, Padmé, Panaka, and several of Panaka's officers entered the throne room as prisoners. Nute Gunray and Rune Haako turned to meet the group, which stopped in front of him.

"Your little insurrection is at an end, Your Highness," said Nute Gunray. "Time for you to sign the treaty and end this pointless debate in the Senate."

The sound of approaching footsteps was heard, and someone called, "Viceroy!"

Everyone turned to see Sabé, disguised as Padmé, walking towards the throne room along with the handmaidens and some of Panaka's officers.

"Your occupation here has ended," continued Sabé, stopping at the entrance of the throne room.

Lifting up her blaster, she shot two of the battle droids on guard just inside the room.

"After her!" demanded Nute Gunray, pointing at Sabé.

Looking at Padmé, he said, "This one's a decoy!"

The battle droids in the room rushed off after the retreating Sabé, her entourage pausing to shoot their pursuers. Padmé, meanwhile, rushed over to her throne and sat down in it. She hit a security button on the arm, which opened a panel in it.

Taking out a blaster, she said, "Captain!"

Panaka turned and caught the blaster she tossed him. Acting swiftly, Panaka shot the remaining battle droids with deadly accuracy. Padmé soon followed, while the Viceroy and his lieutenant stood there helplessly.

Once all of the droids had been taken care of, Panaka said, pointing his blaster at the two Neimoidians, "Jam the doors!"

His officers immediately did as they were told, shutting the door and making sure that no one could get through from the outside.

Walking up to Nute Gunray, Padmé said, with cold anger, "Now, Viceroy, we will discuss a _new_ treaty." (10)

––Iccccccccccccco

Obi-Wan panted hard, waiting with anticipation for the gate in front of him to open. Beyond him near the melting pit, Darth Maul continued to pace, eyeing Obi-Wan like a predator.

Seeing that the minute was almost up, Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber once more, seeing the Sith Lord do the same. A couple of seconds later, the gate hissed open again, allowing the Padawan access to his foe.

With ferocity to match Darth Maul's, Obi-Wan attacked the Zabrak. Darth Maul easily kept up with Obi-Wan's slashes, using both ends of his saberstaff to ward off the other.

Obi-Wan drew back before going for Darth Maul again. The Sith Lord aimed for his legs with several spins of his saberstaff, but Obi-Wan just jumped over them. Using all of his strength, Obi-Wan forced his body closer to the Zabrak's before cutting the saberstaff clean in half at the hilt with an upwards slash.

With the Sith Lord off guard, Obi-Wan kicked him in the stomach. Grunting, Darth Maul sprawled onto his back with the working part of what used to be his saberstaff clutched in his hand. Obi-Wan flipped over him, aiming for his head, but the Zabrak blocked him.

Obi-Wan swiped after Darth Maul as he turned and fled towards the entrance of the small chamber once more, meeting him blow to blow when the other turned around and continued fighting.

The two parried a couple of more blows, before Darth Maul kicked up and sideways, hitting Obi-Wan in the chin. Obi-Wan flipped and landed back on his feet, feeling his body beginning to tire. He aimed a hit at Darth Maul, who flipped sideways in the air and landed off to the side.

Standing in a defensive pose, Obi-Wan waited for the Zabrak to come to him. Darth Maul came at him with the same ferocity, his strength never seeming to waver. Obi-Wan forced himself to move faster and with greater strength as he forced the Zabrak's back towards the red shield.

When the Zabrak ducked Obi-Wan's blow, the Padawan retaliated by forcing his weight against the other's lightsaber. But Darth Maul shoved him away with his strength, before using the Force to push Obi-Wan backwards and over the edge of the melting pit. Obi-Wan's blue lightsaber deactivated and fell uselessly to the ground, while Obi-Wan grabbed one of the nozzles surrounding the upper interior of the pit. His hands desperately tried to hold onto the slippery metal.

Casually, Darth Maul walked over to the side of the pit, before noticing Obi-Wan's lightsaber lying at his feet. With disdain, he kicked it over the side of the pit, where it plummeted into the depths.

Obi-Wan watched with a sinking heart as his lightsaber fell faster and faster, hitting the sides of the pit with loud clatters. What was he going to do now?

––Iccccccccccccco

The Naboo pilots inside the N-1 Starfighters watched in amazement and confusion as the droid control ship suddenly began exploding from its interior.

"What's that?" exclaimed Bravo Two. "It's blowing up from the inside!"

"We didn't hit it," said Ric Olie, watching a chain reaction of explosions go off one by one inside the droid control ship.

The entire station began lighting up like fireworks, littering the void with burned pieces of shrapnel.

"Look," exclaimed Bravo Three, noticing a ship exiting the burning ship, "one of ours, out of the main hold!"

The lone Naboo fighter shot up and out, making it just in time out of the inferno engulfing the droid control ship.

From inside, Anakin was cheering with exhilaration and at his victory. Soon, the other pilots were joining him as they all headed home, whooping with joy as the droid control ship blew into smithereens.

––Iccccccccccccco

The captured Gungans blinked and murmured in confusion when the battle droids, who were currently holding them prisoner, suddenly went limp – if a droid _could_, that is – with the sound of their motors whining off.

Lowering their raised arms, the Gungans exchanged looks.

"What the–" said one of the Gungans.

"Was'n they doing?" asked Jar Jar to Captain Tarpals, gesturing towards the droid that had been guarding him.

"The control ship has been destroyed. Look!" said Tarpals, shoving over the battle droid that had been standing in front of him.

Jar Jar watched the head fall off of 'his' droid, and said, "They all broke-ed."

He gently shoved the droid over, where it sprawled out lifelessly onto the grass. Seeing that the droids weren't going to bother them anymore, all of the remaining Gungans broke out in a chorus of joyful cheers.

––Iccccccccccccco

Obi-Wan clung on to the nozzle in the pit with an iron grip, trying to dodge the shower of sparks coming down at him. Darth Maul was using his lightsaber against the side of the pit in order to send up sparks in his foe's face.

Thinking frantically, Obi-Wan wondered what he should do.

"Hey, you!"

Obi-Wan's blood ran cold.

––Iccccccccccccco

Kagome ran down the long narrow hallway as quietly as she could, feeling blood trickle down the side of her face. In her haste to get up to the two Jedi, she had opened a large gash on her temple above her right eye. She ignored the free-flowing blood running down her face, trying to get to the end of the hallway before the red gate-shields closed up again.

At the other end, she could see the Zabrak swiping at the side of the melting pit, sending up sparks. That meant that…

'_No! I'm already too late?_' thought Kagome desperately, thinking of when she 'saw' Qui-Gon get killed.

As she neared the Zabrak, she could hear the midi-chlorians start up their screaming again. She nearly stopped mid-run to cover her ears, but remembered that she wasn't actually using her ears to hear them.

'_Ignore them, just ignore them,_' Kagome told herself, as she narrowly dodged being caught in the last red gate.

Luckily, the Zabrak hadn't noticed her yet. His back was currently turned to her as he continued to rain sparks down into the pit. Kagome assumed that Obi-Wan was holding onto the nozzle in the pit like in her vision.

Glancing to her left, she saw Qui-Gon's still body huddled on the floor, and felt a stab of pain in her heart. Every single thing that Kagome had seen in her vision had transpired, and she hadn't had any time to prevent it from happening.

'_What am I going to do? What is the point in having a vision if it's going to happen anyway?_' she thought, squeezing her eyes shut.

Suddenly, a thought struck her. It wasn't the smartest idea she'd ever come up with, but hopefully it would work. Maybe…if she could distract the Zabrak, she could allow Obi-Wan to escape from the pit.

'_Looks like I get to use myself as bait, after all,_' thought Kagome wryly.

Taking a deep breath, she said, quite loudly, "Hey, you!"

The Zabrak stiffened and whirled around at the sound of her voice. Kagome's eyes grew wide as saucers when he turned his gaze on her.

Seeing that the source of the noise was just a pipsqueak of a girl, the Zabrak grinned sadistically and began to advance on her.

Kagome drew herself up bravely, forcing herself to stay in one spot. Her heart felt like it would pound itself out of her chest, and her breathing bordered on hyperventilating.

Crossing her fingers behind her back, she thought, '_Please, Obi-Wan! Do something!_'

The Zabrak raised his lightsaber above his head to strike her down, and Kagome wondered if she had made some sort of error. Maybe she had gotten there so late, that Obi-Wan had already fallen. All hope of being rescued by the Padawan left her, and Kagome filled with dread. _She was going to die._

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qui-Gon's lightsaber – which had been lying on the ground by its user – suddenly shake by itself.

'_What–?_' thought Kagome, before she saw Obi-Wan jump out of the pit.

The abandoned lightsaber flew into the Padawan's hand and activated as he flipped over the Zabrak, landing protectively in front of Kagome. With his lightsaber, he slashed at Zabrak's midsection, causing the other to groan in pain. Stumbling backwards, the Zabrak fell over the side of pit, his body separating into two halves as he fell (11). Kagome felt relief flood through her as the sound of the screaming midi-chlorians slowly died.

Obi-Wan stood up out of his striking pose, deactivated the lightsaber, and then abruptly turned around to face Kagome.

Kneeling down in front of her, he took her by the shoulders and said, with obvious concern, "Kagome! How on earth did you get up here? Did he hurt you?"

Kagome saw that his eyes were lingering on her gash and shook her head.

"I'm fine…" she said shakily, turning her gaze towards Qui-Gon lying on the ground.

Obi-Wan saw where she was looking and ran over to his mentor. He knelt down beside Qui-Gon and picked up his master, cradling him in his arms. Kagome averted her eyes from this scene, feeling that they needed some privacy.

"No, it– It's too late," muttered Qui-Gon, his breath coming out in gasps.

"No," said Obi-Wan with anguish, shaking his head with denial.

"Obi-Wan," said Qui-Gon quietly. "Promise– Promise me you will train the boy. Promise me– Promise me that you will get Kagome into the Jedi Temple."

"Yes, Master," said Obi-Wan obediently, his eyes filling with tears.

Qui-Gon reached up and stroked his apprentice's cheek affectionately with his finger.

"The boy– He _is_ the Chosen One. He…_will_ bring balance… Train him," said Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan nodding all the while (12).

Then Qui-Gon's eyes shut for a final time, his body going limp.

Obi-Wan pressed his face against his master's forehead, rocking back and forth with sorrow. He cried quietly, grieving for his master and father figure of fourteen years.

Kagome, meanwhile, had sat down against the wall of the small chamber. Her head was buried in her arms, which were propped up on top of her knees. Even though she hadn't known Qui-Gon for very long, her eyes filled with tears and she cried silently into her sleeves. She noted briefly that she had cried a lot that day.

Qui-Gon had freed her and Anakin from slavery, for which she was grateful. He had always been kind to both of them, always offering his support. Kagome's only regret was that she hadn't gotten there in time to warn him.

'_Poor Obi-Wan,_' Kagome thought, feeling terrible as she listened to him cry.

She waited for the Padawan learner to finish his current state of grieving, drying her own tears by rubbing her face against her arm. She was vaguely aware of the fact that her gash had finally clotted, and that all of the blood on her face was cracked and peeling off. Feeling her hair brush against her neck and shoulders, she realized that her hair tie must have come undone in her haste to get to the two Jedi.

Glancing up, she saw that Obi-Wan had stood and was now just staring down at the body of his master.

Kagome stood and hesitantly walked over to the Padawan learner. She could not see his face, but she figured that he had probably gained control of his emotions; one of the things she had learned about Jedi was their extraordinary control over their feelings.

Slowly, Kagome took Obi-Wan's hand into her two smaller ones, making him look down at her in surprise.

"I… I am very sorry for your loss, Obi-Wan-san," stated Kagome, blinking up at him mournfully.

"Thank you, Kagome," said Obi-Wan quietly.

"Forgive me," stated Kagome, her voice beginning to quaver. "I did not get here in time."

"Forgive you? Whatever for?" asked Obi-Wan, kneeling down next to her.

"When I was hiding, I saw Qui-Gon get killed, and I saw you fall. I tried to get here as fast as I could, but I failed," stated Kagome, averting her eyes.

"You…_saw_ this? In what, a vision?" asked Obi-Wan.

Kagome nodded.

Obi-Wan seemed to contemplate her for a moment, before standing, bringing her up with him.

"It's not your fault you didn't get here in time, Kagome. There was no telling when what you saw in your vision would occur. Such is the nature of precognition," said Obi-Wan, giving her a small smile.

Kagome smiled slowly and said, "G-good. I'm glad."

Despite his grief, Obi-Wan maintained a positive attitude as he bent down towards Qui-Gon.

With a surprising amount of strength, he picked up Qui-Gon's body and draped him over his shoulders. He held onto his master's arms and legs, securing him in place. And although Qui-Gon was a large man, Obi-Wan bore his weight tirelessly. (13)

"Now," he said, "how did you get up here?"

"There's an elevator…at the end of the catwalk," said Kagome, pointing in the general direction of where she had exited from the elevator.

Taking a deep breath and nodding, Obi-Wan said, "Okay, let's go."

_**End**_

––Iccccccccccccco

**Author's Notes**

(1) No, Kagome, all of the Trade Federation deserves a laser blast to the face!

(2) I guess he's walking in the front because Jar Jar doesn't know squat about fighting in battles, even though Jar Jar is technically a rank above Tarpals XD

(3) Wow, the tanks just sat there and kept firing at the shield for about a minute, even though it was pretty obvious after the first couple of shots that cannon fire didn't work on it. Droids can be pretty stupid, sometimes. Except R2; he's smarter than almost everyone else.

(4) Militiagungs are civilian Gungans pressed into military service when more manpower – Gunganpower? – is needed

(5) If you look at the scene where the Gungans activate their personal shields, you can see one of the Gungans – about in the middle of the front row – look over at one of his fellow soldiers to make sure that he was doing it right. Heh, I do that _all_ the time.

(6) Saberstaffs rule! Even though they're a Sith weapon, Jedi have been known to use it, and good for them, because you have _two_ lighsabers in one if you use a saberstaff!

(7) I think Anakin just wanted to go up and help the pilots. Why else would he push lots of buttons that are _obviously_ not used for firing lasers? The kid spends most of his life in podracers and doesn't know an engine switch from a firing button? Sounds unlikely.

(8) Comic relief moment! LOL! Don't you just love them?

(9) Right after this is the scene where the Gungans get overrun by the Trade Federation army. Wanna see something funny? Go on YouTube and look up 'Star Wars Spoof Battle with Benny Hill'. It shows the Gungan battle, but about midway through, they speed it up and put the Benny Hill theme in it. It's hilarious as hell!

(10) If I were her, I'd just shoot them and be done with it. Pfft. Politics…

(11) Damn you, George Lucas! _Why_ in the in _the_ hell did you kill off Darth Maul? He was one of the coolest characters in the three prequels! Granted, he was evil, but he was a great villain that could fight with a saberstaff! General Grievous was an asshole with a bad temper compared to Darth Maul! And Dooku wasn't as intimidating – no offense, Christopher Lee! If you're gonna be a Sith, you have to be intimidating!

(12) Notice that Qui-Gon didn't say anything about how well a student Obi-Wan was, or how much he cared for him. I guess the stroking on the cheek thing made it all good.

(13) Liam Neeson's a tall guy; he's 6'4".

––Iccccccccccccco

R.I.P. Qui-Gon! Okay, folks, one more chapter to go and Episode I is OVER! Then I can start on a little midway section between Episode I and Episode II, which shouldn't take very long. I hope.

Until next time, ja ne! ;D


	9. Chapter IX: Peace on Naboo

Last chapter of _Episode I_! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I'm willing to piss off George Lucas, 'cause he killed off Darth Maul. But I don't have any money to be sued away from, so I'm going to say, 'I don't own Star Wars or InuYasha'. Take that, GL!

"speaking"

'_thinking_'

**Chapter IX: Peace on Naboo**

––Iccccccccccccco

"_There is no death, there is the Force."_

~ Line 5 of the 'refined' Jedi Code (reversed during 3996 BBY – 3964 years prior)

––Iccccccccccccco

Rows of Naboo officers waited patiently in the Palace Plaza, watching as the new Supreme Chancellor's red cruiser landed safely. Padmé, dressed as her status once more, and Panaka guarded the two Neimoidians, who looked as guilty as hell. Padmé was, of course, guarded by her handmaidens, who were donned in yellow robes. Obi-Wan stood nearby, with Anakin and Kagome standing behind him.

"Now, Viceroy," stated Padmé, "you're going to have to go back to the Senate and explain all this."

Panaka walked up to Nute Gunray and Rune Haako, saying, "I think you can kiss your trade franchise goodbye."

Then he walked towards the newly-arrived ship, leading the way for Obi-Wan and the officers. They passed several silent Republic guards, whereupon the new Supreme Chancellor approached Obi-Wan and the two children accompanying him.

Obi-Wan bowed, Anakin and Kagome copying him shortly after.

"We are indebted to you for your bravery, Obi-Wan Kenobi," said the new Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine.

Then the senator-turned-Chancellor turned to Anakin and said warmly, "And you, young Skywalker. We will watch your career with great interest."

He patted the boy on the shoulder, moving past the three standing before him. Then he caught the gaze of Kagome, who was staring coldly at him. Her face was not very friendly, to say the least. He might have been mortified, however, if her face had still been covered in blood; she had had her face cleaned and her wound stitched a day before.

Palpatine ignored her, and moved on. Smiling, he went up to the waiting Padmé, while the previous three greeted the Jedi Council. The Jedi had apparently traveled with the Chancellor to Naboo upon hearing that Qui-Gon had died.

"Congratulations on your election, Chancellor," said Padmé, giving Palpatine a welcoming smile.

"Your boldness has saved our people, Your Majesty," said Palpatine humbly. "It's you who should be congratulated."

Padmé's smiled turned into a frown as the Chancellor continued.

"Together, we shall bring peace and prosperity to the Republic."

Saying nothing at this, the young queen moved aside.

Giving an inviting gesture, she said, "Perhaps we should take our conversation in a more comfortable setting, Chancellor?"

Palpatine smiled and said, "As you wish, Your Majesty."

––Iccccccccccccco

Anakin and Kagome sat on the second set of steps leading directly down to the Palace Plaza, watching Panaka's troops scurry about. Since the arrival of the Supreme Chancellor himself, everyone had been busy trying to get everything in as much order as possible.

'_There's not much order to make out of this, what with the mess,_' thought Kagome, surveying the damage made during the Trade Federation's occupation.

Queen Amidala had invited everyone – including Palpatine, Panaka, Sio Bibble, the Jedi, etc. – in for a council session into her throne room minutes earlier. Obi-Wan, who was now their unofficial guardian in light of Qui-Gon's death, had requested that Kagome and Anakin – who were not allowed into the council session – go and play until the meeting was over.

But neither child felt like playing. Even with such a large palace, full of all sorts of nooks and crannies, nearby, Kagome and Anakin didn't want to go exploring and risk the wrath of Panaka's officers while doing so – annoying the guards could have been fun in different circumstances. Ever since Qui-Gon had died, the spirit had simply gone out of both of them.

Kagome snuck a glance at Anakin out of the corner of her eye. The sandy-haired boy's face was unreadable, his eyes focused somewhere between his feet. This was the sort of behavior Anakin had had ever since he had learned of Qui-Gon's death. Frankly, Kagome was worried for him.

Furrowing her brow, Kagome gave an annoyed glance at the huge statue currently standing near her. The statue was, Kagome presumed, of one of Naboo's past rulers and one of several lining the stairway up to the Theed Royal Palace. She found the blank face, void of any real emotion, and the blank eyes, void of any _pupils_, strangely infuriating.

A sniff from Anakin's direction made Kagome snap out of her reverie. Surprise etched on her face, she turned in her adopted brother's direction, only to find that his face was turned away so that she couldn't see it. Another sniff sounded from him, though it was evident that he tried to conceal it.

"Ani…?" said Kagome, leaning towards him and touching his arm.

There was no response from the boy. He gave no indication that he had heard her or even felt her touch him.

"Ani? What's wrong?" asked Kagome, shaking him gently on the arm.

"Why did he have to die?" asked Anakin quietly, his voice quavering.

Kagome said nothing, knowing that he was talking about Qui-Gon.

"He was so kind to us, wasn't he? Even when we first met," said Anakin thickly, his face still turned away from Kagome's.

"Yeah…" said Kagome, not knowing what else to say.

"And now he's gone," said Anakin, turning to look at her.

Kagome saw tearstains on his cheeks, his eyes red and watery. How long had he been crying, or on the verge of crying?

"What do you think will happen to us?" asked Anakin, sounding lost.

"I don't know, Ani," said Kagome sadly.

Tears started afresh in the younger boy's eyes, and Kagome blinked with surprise when Anakin simply leaned his face against her shoulder, crying quietly.

"I already miss him a lot," came Anakin's muffled, saddened voice (2).

Kagome turned so that he was leaning against her chest and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Anakin's crying increased, his sniffles turning into sobs. The girl holding him, however, was taken off guard at the potency of his grief.

'_I wonder… Did Ani see Qui-Gon as a sort of father figure…? Is that why he's so upset?_' mused Kagome, rubbing circles into the boy's back.

Anakin continued to cry, his hands fisted in Kagome's shirt tightly. Kagome let a couple of tears fall as well, not because of her sadness for Qui-Gon's death, but because it pained her to see Anakin in such pain.

'_I don't get it,_' thought Kagome, frowning over the top of Anakin's head. '_I saw him die. I saw Qui-Gon die. But why is it…that I have the feeling…that he isn't really gone?_'

––Iccccccccccccco

It was early afternoon, and the sun shone through the windows of the Turret Room of the Palace. The sound of birds had returned to the recovering city, while the waterfalls that Theed had been built on continued to wear away at the cliffside.

Built nearly eight hundred years before, the Turret Room had been established by King Jafan of Naboo as part of the tradition of every newly-elected monarch to add a new section to the Theed Royal Palace. And the Turret Room was a misnomer; it was actually a series of rooms, decorated with great taste, used by visiting VIPs. At the moment, the Turret Room was being occupied by the Jedi Council.

Inside of the lavishly-decorated chambers, Obi-Wan was kneeling before the Grand Master of the Jedi High Council, Yoda. The little green Jedi was pacing back and forth busily in front of the other, using a polished walking stick to support his aged body.

"Confer on you the level of a Jedi Knight, the Council does. But agree with your taking this boy as your Padawan learner, _I_ do not," said Yoda with authority.

"Qui-Gon believed in him," said Obi-Wan, an argument unto itself.

Yoda sighed heavily.

Gravely, he said, "The Chosen One the boy may be. Nevertheless, grave danger I fear in his training."

"Master Yoda," protested Obi-Wan quietly. "I gave Qui-Gon my word. I _will_ train Anakin."

"Ohh!" said Yoda with exasperation, beginning his pacing again with more vigor than before.

"Without the approval of the Council, if I must," continued Obi-Wan with determination.

"Qui-Gon's defiance, I sense in you. Need _that_ you do not," said Yoda with distaste (3).

Obi-Wan ignored the Master's tone and waited.

Yoda finally took a deep breath and said, "Agree with you the Council does. Your apprentice Skywalker will be."

"And the girl? Is she to become a Jedi?" prompted Obi-Wan.

"Yes. Training, she must have. Too much knowledge of the Force she has, to go freely without learning control. A ward of the Jedi Temple, young Higurashi will become," stated Yoda, nodding at Obi-Wan.

Filled with relief, Obi-Wan bowed his head in acknowledgement. Yoda sighed and shook his head at the new Jedi Knight's stubbornness.

––Iccccccccccccco

A sad congregation was gathered in the Turret Room at dusk, standing around a pyre set up in the small temple connecting to the lavish rooms. It was here that the current monarch of Naboo went to pay tribute to their predecessors.

On the pyre lay the body of Qui-Gon (4), slowly being consumed in flame, cremating him into ashes. The Jedi and the politicians watched gravely, not letting any of their feelings show. Panaka and his guards stood to attention, while Boss Nass and several other Gungans watched silently. Jar Jar, who had arrived earlier, whimpered; Qui-Gon had saved his life, and had been indebted to him. R2 beeped mournfully.

Obi-Wan, his hood drawn over his head, turned towards Anakin. The boy was standing on a pedestal behind a low wall in the temple with Kagome, so that they were level with the adults.

Seeing the Jedi Knight turn to face him, the boy asked, "What will happen to me now?"

"The Council has granted me permission to train you. You will be a Jedi, I promise," said Obi-Wan, his face steeped with shadows from the darkness of the room and the fire.

"And Kagome?" asked Anakin, causing Kagome to snap out of her mournful stupor.

Kagome peeked around Anakin to look at Obi-Wan, who noticed her curious glance.

"Kagome will become a ward of the Jedi Temple, and take her place amongst the younglings there," said Obi-Wan, giving Kagome a nod.

Kagome blinked and nodded back at the Jedi. Then she turned back to the fire, her face carefully concealing her shock. She hadn't expected the Jedi Temple to take her in at all. And what were 'younglings'?

Meanwhile, Mace Windu was speaking to Yoda.

"There is no doubt that the mysterious warrior was a Sith," said Windu quietly.

"Mmm," agreed Yoda. "Always two there are. No more, no less. A master…and a apprentice."

"But which was destroyed?" asked Windu rhetorically, "The master or the apprentice?"

Kagome glanced at the two Jedi Masters, wondering what they were speaking about. Figuring that it none of her concern, she turned to face Qui-Gon's cremating body once more.

Then she felt something a cool breeze on the back of her head, and shivered despite being near the hot pyre. Glancing back to see if there was some sort of window or door open, she froze when she saw who was standing behind her, smiling as if there were nothing wrong.

Qui-Gon Jinn stood against the wall of the temple, his form faded out into hues of grey (5). Nothing of skin tone remained, or the brown and tan of his clothing. An aura of bluish-white light surrounded him, casting him with a tint of the sea. His hands were folded neatly, almost ridiculously polite, in front of him, and all he did was smile in that gentle, good-natured way of his.

Mouth dropping open, Kagome's head whipped around back towards the pyre. She could see that Qui-Gon's body was still there, getting eaten away from the flames. Looking back behind her, she saw the other Qui-Gon was there, a hint of amusement on his face.

Kagome's mouth worked, trying to speak. Her shock was so profound, that nothing would come out. How could Qui-Gon be standing there, smiling at her, if he was lying dead on the pyre?

She looked up at Obi-Wan, opening her mouth to tell him what she was seeing, when she saw Qui-Gon – the grey one – shake his head quickly. Seeing that he had her attention once more, Qui-Gon smiled sadly and shook his head at a slower rate. Then he put a finger against his lips, silently indicating for her to remain quiet. His eyes twinkled secretively.

Kagome swallowed and allowed a hesitant smile to twitch at the corners of her lips. It was a relief to see some form of Qui-Gon, even if it was his ghost.

Lips curling into a happy smile, Kagome watched the ghost Qui-Gon laugh quietly. Then, perhaps satisfied that someone knew of his current state, he faded away, leaving darkness in his stead.

Kagome turned back to Qui-Gon's burning body, hiding her happiness from the rest of those gathered there. It wouldn't do for them to see her smiling; it would be disrespectful.

'_I knew you weren't gone, Qui-Gon-san…_' thought Kagome happily.

A couple of seconds later, perhaps due to her imagination, she thought she heard the old Jedi chuckle.

––Iccccccccccccco

A day or so later, Kagome was in the guest quarters that Padmé had supplied her. She jumped with surprise when she heard a knock on the door.

"Coming!" she called, jogging over to the door and pushing the 'open' button on the control panel.

The door hummed open, revealing Kagome's adopted brother standing just beyond the doorway, holding a bundle of neatly-folded clothes in his arms.

"Hey, Ani–" began Kagome.

Then she blinked, taking in Anakin's current appearance. He had swapped his Tatooine clothing for a small overtunic worn by Jedi, connected around the middle by a leather and cloth belt. He also wore the khaki pants and leather boots of the Jedi. But what Kagome noticed right away was his _hair._

Anakin's sandy-blonde locks were gone, cut away to a sheer fuzziness an inch or so long. Hanging down from behind his right ear was a small braid (6).

Kagome burst out laughing, her eyes dancing with amusement. Anakin gave her an irritated look, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"What– What in Nal Hutta _happened_ to your _hair_!" snorted Kagome at last, her chest heaving from her laughter.

"Ha ha ha," said Anakin sarcastically.

Kagome burst into fit of giggles.

"Aww, Ani! Your hair's so fuzzy! It's cute!" she said teasingly, rubbing the younger boy's hair affectionately.

"Get off," grumbled Anakin, pushing her arm away.

"Hmph, fine. Be that way, you grouch," muttered Kagome, crossing her arms and frowning at him.

"I brought you some clothes," said Anakin, lifting up the clothes in his hands. "Master Obi-Wan said that they might not fit, but that you can get some in your size once we return to the Jedi Temple."

"Thanks," said Kagome gratefully, taking the clothes from him.

"So," she continued, grinning at Anakin, "it's 'Master Obi-Wan' now, is it?"

"I have to call him that. I'm his apprentice now," said Anakin, crossing his arms and glaring at her defensively.

Kagome nodded and said, "Right… Speaking of the Jedi Temple, do you know when we'll be going back?"

"After everything gets sorted out here, I think," said Anakin, scratching his newly-cropped hair.

"Yeah, everything needs some kind of repair…" sighed Kagome, before shrugging and continuing. "Well, hopefully we'll enjoy the celebrations next week (7)."

Then she hesitated, before breaking out in a wide, mischievous grin.

"Especially since we get to stand near Padmeeeé," she added teasingly.

Just before she had the door shut, she had the pleasure of seeing Anakin's face go pink.

––Iccccccccccccco

Gungan trumpeters and drummers, clad in blue, marched under the Triumphal Arch in the Palace Courtyard, letting all know the sound of their instruments. N-1 Starfighters zoomed overhead, the sound of their engines hardly heard in the sound of the cheering crowd. Along the roadway of the Courtyard, stoic officers were lined up to prevent the Naboo populace from getting in the way.

Flower petals fell, filling the air with their heavenly scent as laughing children threw showered them down onto the smiling faces of the Naboo. The crowd waved multicolored flags as they watched the Gungans enter the Courtyard. Everyone was excited for the momentous day.

Boss Nass, who was riding a highly-decorated falumpaset, was on his way to make the new treaty between the Naboo and the Gungans official, a first among the two sentient beings on the planet. The difference in their ways had kept them apart for millennia, but Padmé Amidala had changed all of that.

Jar Jar Binks and Roos Tarpals rode on their kaadus in front of Boss Nass, waving at the cheering crowd.

Jar Jar seemed delighted, since he kept saying, "Hello, everybody! Hello everybody!"

Boss Nass, who waved at the Naboo as well, chuckled at Jar Jar's antics.

On the top of the last set of stairs near the Theed Royal Palace, Queen Amidala waited for Boss Nass to arrive. Next to her stood Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, waiting expectantly. Sio Bibble, to Padmé's right, was holding a large, glowing booma that represented the peace between the two peoples of Naboo.

Obi-Wan, who was now missing his Padawan braid (8), stood next to Sio Bibble, his new apprentice at his side. Kagome, now dressed in dark-khaki Jedi clothes with a plain leather belt, stood on Anakin's other side next to R2-D2. Standing back from the Queen was Ric Olie and the other pilots, dressed in their orange robes. Sabé (9) stood behind Obi-Wan and Anakin, while Panaka was off to the left with some of his officers. The Jedi High Council watched with patience, as they always did.

While they waited for Boss Nass to arrive, Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged uncertain looks, wondering how they were going to get along.

As the Gungan flagbearers finally made it to the Palace, Jar Jar attempted to get down from his kaadu, only to get his foot caught in the reptavian's stirrup. An attendant led the creature off to the side once the young Gungan had gotten his foot free. Roos Tarpals presumably made it off his kaadu without any trouble.

Boss Nass, despite his large girth, managed to make it off his mount without any trouble whatsoever. One of Panaka's troops had broken from the line to assist him, but it was unnecessary, since Nass had landed neatly on his feet.

With Tarpals and Jar Jar flanking him, Rugor Nass made the climb up the long set of steps towards the Naboo queen. All three walked in their funny gait, Jar Jar most of all (10).

Seeing the leader of Otoh Gunga ascend, Padmé, dressed in light pink with a pink fan attached to her back, stepped forward with a small smile. Then she turned to where she could face Sio Bibble, Boss Nass stepping up beside her. Jar Jar and Tarpals got into line with the other heroes of Naboo.

Sio Bibble placed the Globe of Peace neatly into Padmé's hands, before stepping back neatly out of the way. Padmé turned to Boss Nass and presented the booma to him, who accepted it with a nod.

Turning to the cheering crowd, Boss Nass held the Globe of Peace high over his head.

"Peace!" he declared in his loud, booming voice.

The cheers became even more extravagant, especially from Jar Jar, who shook his old friend Tarpals on the shoulder excitedly. Padmé (11) glanced at Anakin and smiled, who smiled back. R2 chirped happily (12), and Obi-Wan smiled slightly down at his Padawan learner.

And all the while, Kagome tried to hide the fact that she was staring at Obi-Wan, smiling shyly and blushing prettily.

_**End of Episode I**_

––Iccccccccccccco

**Author's Notes**

(1) It looked about mid-afternoon when Padmé captured the Viceroy, but it looks like morning when Palpatine arrives. Plus, it takes time to travel across the galaxy, even in hyperspace.

(2) Anakin didn't seem that broken-up about Qui-Gon's death in the movie, so I put _this_ in to make him not look like an ungrateful little bastard.

(3) I would've been pissed, if I were in Obi-Wan's place. "Don't you talk about my master in that tone, you little green bastard!" LOL

(4) Did anyone else notice that Qui-Gon isn't burning very well?

(5) This is what is known as a 'Force ghost'. For thousands of years, the art of being able to make oneself into a Force ghost upon death was lost. Then Qui-Gon rediscovered it and taught it to Yoda and Obi-Wan – several decades after Qui-Gon's death – who then taught it to Anakin once he died. That is why Obi-Wan's and Yoda's bodies disappeared, though the body doesn't necessarily have to disappear in order to become a Force ghost.

(6) His braid is too long to have come from his original hair. Methinks the costume artists made a mistake?

(7) The celebration was in the next week because Padmé had to free and reestablish everyone that had been put in camps, clean up the mess, prepare for the celebrations, etc.

(8) He had it removed with a lightsaber in an official ceremony by the Jedi Council. Kind of like 'knighting'. ^.^

(9) The only way you can tell that she's Sabé is because she is very clearly Keira Knightley.

(10) Jar Jar looks like he's trying to be a gangsta… LOL

(11) I love Padmé's dress and makeup in this scene. Natalie Portman is so pretty in it.

(12) A happy R2 makes me happy. He's just so cute!

––Iccccccccccccco

Dun-dun-DUN! End of _Episode I: The Phantom Menace_! Drinks all around, me hearties, yo ho! Next I'll be writing a little in-between piece about what happens to Kagome before the second movie, but after the first. Many thanks to all of my reviewers!

Until next time (me hearties), ja ne! ^.^


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